


gentle musicians into respectful escapades

by blurbluefrog (ForestFish)



Category: 15& (Band), Day6 (Band)
Genre: ASC family, Alternate Universe, BY E, Bad Jokes, Bad Puns, Confessions, Crack Treated Seriously, Creepypasta, Cuddling, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kisses, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humour, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of Minor Crimes, Multi, Mutual Pining, Mystery, Not Beta Read, Or not, Pining, Poet Brian, Self-Indulgent, Slow Burn, arts school, but alternating at times, forming the band, lel, long chapters, loosely based on Hi Hello, mentions of fear of societal expectations, mentions of recreational drug use, mostly from jae's pov, sexuality talks, so self-indulgent i should feel sorry but i don't, this fic is a massive mess, this is just a mess lmao, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2018-12-11 14:10:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 118,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11715990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForestFish/pseuds/blurbluefrog
Summary: Jae was interested in this Canadian dude from Arts School. No, it wasn’t the I-wanna-get-in-your-pants kind of interest, you sick person. It was just the regular wanna-get-to-know-you kind of interest. Honest. The dude just happened to have caught Jae’s eye and Jae wanted to get to know him better.Alright, maybe he also kind of thought he was good-looking but that had nothing to do with his interest in him.(or the fic where they're all in an Arts School and the idea of the band comes up in an unconventional way)





	1. Sweet Arrangement

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. Okay. I can do this.
> 
> This is the first time I've ever written a fic about Kpop/Krock stars, so please bear with me.
> 
> So, this is an AU because I don't think I can write about them being in the world we know and stuff. I just imagine them as characters in a weird drama or sth as I write /cries  
> I picked up some actual information and trivia from radio shows and the sort and built their characters in this alternate universe around that. Hopefully, you'll dig that /sweats
> 
> Basically, this is your regular University/College AU, but they're in (generic) Arts School instead, most of them are queer as heck (come fight me on this) and some crazy stuff happens.  
> The title... the title is what it is. A well-thought-out, beautiful title that fits perfectly /sweats loudly  
> (I blame my friend for indulging my nonsensical self-indulgent crap)
> 
> Please don't expect a well-structured and convoluted plot because I'm a mess and so is everything I write lmao expect fluff, pining and lots of bad jokes though. I have no Idea how many chapters this fic will end up with, but I'm thinking at least 10 /cries
> 
> Excuse spelling mistakes and the sort.
> 
> Anyway, I tagged this as best as I could, I think I addressed everything that should be addressed and more, and I hope that at least some of you enjoy this thing if you decide to give it a try!
> 
> by e

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae gets a lot more than he'd bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jae, Brian and Sungjin kind of commit a crime

* * *

 

Jae was interested in this Canadian dude from Arts School. No, it wasn’t the _I-wanna-get-in-your-pants_ kind of interest, you sick person. It was just the regular _wanna-get-to-know-you_ kind interest. _Honest._ The dude just happened to have caught Jae’s eye and Jae wanted to get to know him better.

Alright, maybe he also _kind of_ thought he was good-looking but that had _nothing_ to do with his interest in him.

No, but get this. You couldn’t just _not notice_ this guy. He just caught your attention, no matter who you were. You would have to see this guy to understand what he meant. Unless smoking pot had already started frying his brain (impossible though, he’d only done it once…okay, _twice_. Pot was harmless, mind you) and he was imagining things.

Okay, but seriously, this Canadian dude was almost too beautiful to be real and he didn’t save on the smiles. _The fucking smiles._ He seemed to always be beaming about like an out of control laser-gun. Those smiles could melt fucking glaciers. _For real._ You know that massive chunk of ice that got detached from Antarctica? Jae was _this_ close to calling Greenpeace and telling them his theory. This guy and his smile had to be responsible for it. Global Warning? Had to be Brian Kang and his smile, Jae was calling it.

Alright, jokes aside, it wasn’t like he had fallen for the guy or anything.

Hell, he barely knew his name (that was a lie, he totally knew his name) and they’d never even interacted. That shit didn’t happen outside of dramas. He just wanted to, like, talk to him, maybe hang out, get to know him. Nothing weird about that, right?

_Right?_

Okay, but _context_ , context is important.

It was Jae’s first year in Arts school in Korea. Brian had caught Jae’s eye during singing tests. Guys and girls of all sorts, their ages ranging from 18 to around 30, everyone testing out their vocals, and all that jazz. Regular stuff.

It became clear right away that Mr Colgate wasn’t just looks, he was also crazy talented. Even the tutor looked like he’d been blown away. He was a tenor and he sung like an angel. He also had an amazing vocal range. Jae was gobsmacked. He got chicken bumps all over his skin. And that was the moment he decided that he wanted to get to know this dude and started following him around with his eyes.

(Which was a somewhat easy task, because they'd turned out to be in the same group and had pretty much the same classes).

And _honestly,_ this guy’s smile was so beautiful that he could sell toothpaste to chickens if he wanted (alright, enough with the bad analogies.

That was a good one though because… never mind.)

* * *

 

It was the middle of the school year and Jae didn’t have many friends there. _Actual_ friends, that is. Sure, he hung out with lots of people and he was quite the social guy, always joking about with people and engaging in some healthy banter on social media. But it was tough to express himself and joke in a language that he didn’t dominate that well, even though it was his parents’ language.

That’s how he’d befriended Jimin and Kevin; they both spoke fluent English. However, Jimin was about as apt with Korean as he was so she was pretty much useless as a translator and Kevin just couldn’t be bothered. That’s why he had to befriend Brian, who seemed to speak both fluent English and fluent Korean. It would be the perfect friendship.

Like, Jae tried to be a social guy because as an aspiring entertainer it didn’t hurt to be talkative and friendly. He saw that in Brian as well. He noticed that he was always surrounded by people (mostly chicks, who would have guessed? Truly shocking) trying to chat him up but, despite his constant smiles and obvious kindness, nobody stuck around for too long. He looked kind of awkward at times but he didn’t seem to dismiss them or make them feel unwelcomed though. People couldn’t handle looking at him directly for too long was Jae’s theory. Jae would be able to do it though.

_Then why hadn’t he mustered up the courage to go talk to him yet?_

Jae wanted to bang his head on the wall for being such a damn _chicken._

(He truly owned his damn nickname.)

He had literally had so many chances to just come up to him and hit him with a casual ‘ _Hello_ ’, which wouldn’t be weird at all because that is how people tend to start conversations. Yet, it’d been almost _six months_ and he’d never even talked to him. Not _once_. Their eyes had never even fucking met. It was so unlike Jae to be such a damn coward that he wanted to punch himself in the face.

He blamed Brian for it though. Kind of. Just a little. Okay, it was his own damn fault but Brian was alone most of the time which gave him this cool aura. He seemed to be the unapproachable cool type of guy but when people talked to him he was actually all smiles and kindness. Cool and aloof yet gentle and friendly.

(Earl of Lemongrab would agree with Jae. It was _unacceptable.)_

“You’re staring, Jae.” Jimin said from behind him and he jolted, looking back in surprise.

“What the hell, _James_?” He gasped, clutching his chest “Don’t come up behind me like that. What if I had a Bruce Lee reflex and smacked you in the face?” He asked striking some sloppy-ass kung fu-like pose that made Jimin snort.

Jimin was the best friend in had in there. They had a lot in common. Her levels of trolling were even on par with his which was mildly concerning.

“If by Bruce Lee reflex you mean shit your pants, then sure, Brucey.” She teased, friendly punching his arm “Were you looking at Mr Dazzling-Smile over there?” She grinned gesturing towards the stairs to the school where Brian was sitting with a notepad and a pen in his hand.

(Well, at least she agreed that Brian had a dazzling smile so Jae wasn’t losing his mind.)

Jae snorted, playing it cool, and turned around before yawning. Something he was good at: playing cool. He prided himself in that skill.

“Nah, I was just distracted, happened to be looking in that direction…” He dismissed before checking the time on his phone “It’s about lunch time and it smelled good. Jae is hungry.” He said patting his belly for emphasis and walking back into the school.

* * *

 

She wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily though and Jae was already considering changing his name to Juan and moving back to Argentina. When had she become so perceptive?

“I mean, I can’t really blame you, he _is_ dreamy.” She commented when they were already sitting at a table in the tiny crowded cafeteria with their trays in front of them, already eating. _Together alone_ , as Jae jokingly referred to it.

Jae had just stuffed his mouth with rice before he sighed deeply and dramatically placed the chopsticks beside the bowl of rice. He chewed on his food and brought his hands together as if in prayer and pressing them against his pursed lips. He chewed and swallowed his food before speaking again.

“Why are you doing this to me, Jimin?” He asked with playful graveness and she cackled, spitting rice all over their table which was irrelevant in the present context.

(Jae was quite nervous though, he wouldn’t lie.)

“Are you confessing that you have the hots for the Canadian guy?” She asked with a sly grin.

“I don’t have the ho-“ he almost snapped before breathed heavily through his nose, kind of upset for a moment before he shut up and pursed his lips. He sighed deeply.

Well, at least it seemed clear enough that she wouldn’t think it was gross or something. He looked down at his bowl and picked up his chopsticks again. He looked calm but he wasn’t.

_Not at fucking all._

That would be the first time he came out.

He quickly realised that people weren’t exaggerating when they said it was tough.

“Well, let’s just, let's just say that I kind of… swing both ways, if you know what I mean…” He said, glancing at her from over his glasses with a shrug and slight scoff “I mean… I love girls for sure but…”

Jimin looked super cool when she spoke.

“You also like dudes, I get it.” She casually finished his sentence for him before stuffing more food in her mouth. Jae nodded.

(Yeah, and he’d been into dudes before. He’d never acted on it though because, guess fucking what, he was kind of scared of the eventual backlash, especially in the showbiz. Tough luck.

But Jimin had accepted it and Jae felt a pang of gratitude and wanted to hug her _just a little_.)

“That’s what people call being bi, Park Jaehyung.” She patronised with a grin and Jae snorted and puffed his cheeks looking up at her. He felt so relieved though.

“I know that, Park Jimin, I’m not that dumb.” He said childishly sticking his tongue out to her before falling silent for a moment “Thanks.”

Jimin was also silent for a couple seconds.

“For what?”

Jae shrugged.

“First time I’ve came out to anybody and you, like, didn’t think it was gross or anything. That was cool.” He said coolly and Jimin scoffed shaking her head. Jae looked at her waiting for whatever she was going to say.

“Why would I think that?” She pursed her lips and snorted a little, looking at him “Honestly, what’s weird to me is liking only one sex or gender or whatever. It just boggles my mind.” Jae widened his eyes in surprise.

“Wait, does that mean-“ She nodded and smirked.

“Yeah, it means that I’m also bi, cupcake. You probably should add some actual lenses to your glasses because the contacts don’t seem to be enough. I’m not even discrete about it.” She casually told him chuckling at the look of sudden realisation plastered all over Jae’s face “And neither are you. I’ve caught you staring more than once already. You really into him?”

Jae dramatically shook his head, feeling genuinely disappointed in himself for being found out like that when he thought he was being so sneaky.

“I just think he’s interesting.” Jae pouted a little before stuffing more food in his mouth “sure, he’s good-looking. But it’s not like I wanna-“ Jimin was looking to the side and gestured with her hand to shut him up. She grinned and Jae got a little concerned.

“I know what you were gonna say and it was lovely having this bonding moment with you, friend, but Brian Kang is coming in our direction.”

Jae almost choked.

“He’s _wha_ -“ He looked to the side and saw that indeed Brian Kang was walking towards them with his tray in his hands and an awkward yet ever beautiful smile on his face.

(They’d summoned him. Illuminati _confirmed._ Greenpeace Korea had to be called.)

Brian was silent for a moment looking from one to the other.

“Hi, there. Can I sit with you?” Brian spoke in English when he finally did speak “All the other seats are taken…”

Jae quickly glanced around and noticed that he was telling the truth.

(Bless this tiny fucking cafeteria and bless whatever Brian was doing outside on his notepad that made him arrive late.)

He grinned back before nodding.

“Nah, man, go for it.” Jae casually told him, pointing the free seat beside him. Jae felt the courage he’d been dreading himself for having lost come back to him all at once and he wanted to thank not only God but also Jesus for it. Jimin looked at him and looked mildly impressed at how cool he was acting after being _a chicken_ for so long. He also wanted to thank Jimin, _again_ , because it was probably her support that had emboldened him.

“Cheers.” Brian said and he sat down, placing his tray on the table.

The inevitable awkward silence settled immediately but Jae was expecting it and he knew how to deal with it like a pro. Years and years of being the artsy clownish nerd had taught him some foolproof tactics to handle that kind of situation. He got this. He knew that the only way to tackle an awkward situation was by addressing it so he took the shot.

“You know” he said as he stuffed more food in his mouth “it’s only awkward if we let it be awkward.” And he was relieved to see that Brian flashed his smile in his direction in response.

 _Ay, ay, ay, madre de Diós._ Even more gorgeous up close. Eye-candy, more like _Hi, Canadian_ (he should have greeted him like that. He’d missed his chance.

 _Shame_.)

“Agree.” Brian said and he looked from him to Jimin “We didn’t even introduce ourselves!”

“Park Jimin” Jimin grinned at him and reached her hand to shake his. Jae was impressed. _Bold._ “Nice to meet you!”

“Park Jaehyung, just call me Jae though.” Jae said and reached his hand for Brian to shake as well. Warm and calloused.

“We're in the same group, I remember you.” He smiled back as he shook Jae’s hand “Kang Younghyun… or Brian Kang.” He shrugged “It’s nice to finally meet you.” He said looked from Jae to Jimin.

(Well, yes, of course Jae knew they were in the same group but he wasn't buddies with everyone there, he barely knew the name of some of his groupmates.)

 _Jae was #shook_ at that. 

 _Finally?_ He played it off, naturally.

“Of course you remember me. I’m fantastic, aren’t I?” Jae boasted playfully, puffing his chest and running a hand through his light blonde hair. Jimin shook her head and Brian laughed but nodded, clearly agreeing. Jae was pleased with himself for making Brian laugh on his first try. On to a good start. “I remember you too.” He confessed vaguely (it was a little more than just remembering, Jae, you dirty little liar) “Didn’t know your Korean name though.” And that was true. He did know that his _Instagram_ user was youngk93 but he didn’t associate it with anything. ’93 was probably the year he’d been born. The rest could be a reference to Alphaville for all he knew. Again, before this very moment, he’d never even interacted with Brian.

“Almost nobody uses my Korean name. I’ve _almost_ given up on trying to get people to use it.” He shrugged with a little nose scrunch and Jimin laughed. Jae snorted and spat some of the rice he was eating.

(Sexy, Jae, wow.)

He wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“Brian is just easier to say.” She said “Don’t take it personally.”

Brian smiled softly.

“I don’t, don’t worry.”

 _The little soft smile should be illegal._ Jae shook his head. He also tried to smile like that sometimes, to look cute for Instagram. But he was sure he just looked like a gigantic wimpy chicken no matter what people told him. Especially without his glasses. That was _not fair_.

 _Brian_ wasn’t fair.

“I’d noticed you speaking in English, sorry about that.” Brian told them with an apologetic smile “It’s just been a while since I got to speak English.” He looked around them “There’s another person with you sometimes.”

Jae had already noticed that he had a bit of a Korean accent despite speaking fluent English but he didn’t comment on that. It wasn’t important.

“It’s Kevin.” Jimin told him “He had something to do.” She vaguely explained.

Jae friendly patted Brian’s back who smiled at the gesture.

“Don’t worry about that, bro. We’re here for all your English practice needs… in exchange for some Korean-English translation, of course. We’ve been experiencing some technical difficulties at times.” Brian grinned and tilted his head slightly to the side, looking at him.

“It would be my pleasure to do that, Jae.”

_Ay, ay, corazón._

Jae decided that he’d already wasted too much fucking time wanting to get to know this dude so he decided to go all the way at once.

“Say, Brian, what d’you think the three of us go out after class for a snack?” Jae casually asked when they all finished eating. It was almost time to go back to class. Jimin looked at him now clearly impressed. Jae grinned, swelling with pride.

“That sounds great!” She said grinning from ear to ear “There’s a bakery nearby that has these amazing-looking cakes and I would love to, I would love to try some…” her grin melted a little and she sighed “and screw my diet.”

Brian fell silent for a moment looking at her.

“What diet? You’re beautiful, Jimin. You don’t need any diets.” He told her with _the_ soft smile with _the_ head tilt. It was a thing Jae noticed that he did and it was absolutely disarming.

Jae noticed that her whole face acquired a funny shade of pink. Even Jae felt himself blush at that. _Jesus._

“O-oh” Jimin stuttered (he made Jimin stutter, that was the extent of his power) “that’s so sweet of you…”

“It’s just the truth.” Brian said before grabbing a napkin and wiping his mouth “I hate diets with a passion. Healthy people shouldn’t have to go on any diets.”

Jae nodded in agreement. He kept telling her that but he was only a pro at banter, his soft smile game was _weak_ in comparison _._ Plus, Jimin hardly ever took him seriously even when he _was_ being serious, there was also that.

“So we’re up for those sinful cakes?” He grinned and Brian nodded before smiling at him.

“I’m always up for food. Sinful cakes sound like my kind of plan!”

They already had something in common, Jae thought. They would get along pretty well if things kept rolling like that.

* * *

 

But as things would have it, Jimin couldn’t make it to their cake-eating _date_. Jae felt a little guilty for not feeling too bad about that but he would make up to her (he was a good friend, mind you).

The weather was perfect. Sunny and cool, almost no clouds, and a little breeze. Ideal when you’re broke as fuck and need to save on transports to buy food. He could chat Brian up on the way there, also. Always look on the bright side, buddy.

Brian seemed more disheartened about Jimin’s absence than Jae thought he would be. It hadn’t crossed his mind before, but he suddenly thought that maybe Brian was into Jimin. It made sense, Jimin was a cool person and she was adorable (- _looking_ , because she was actually a little demon). If that was the case, Jae wouldn’t be too sad, honestly (he would even root for them, that’s how good a friend he was).

“Do you think it’s because of the diet thing?” He asked Jae as they walked side by side on the bustling pavement trying to stick together. Jae shook his head.

“Nah, man, it’s just her professor that’s an asshole, I’ll tell you that.” He assured him “She makes them stay overtime all the time. I pray every night to God and Jesus that I didn’t land that vocals tutor.”

Brian seemed a little relieved to hear that.

“We can take her some cakes. Do you know what she likes?” Jae nodded dramatically.

“I sure do, bro. She makes sure I do. She’ll love us for it.” Brian chuckled at the comment before he fell silent for a moment and glanced at Jae.

“You’ve known her for long?” Brian asked and Jae shook his head.

“Since the beginning of the semester.” He told him and then he casually proceeded “We bonded over language at first, then common interests, then she turned out to be little shit and that’s how we became friends.” Brian laughed at the explanation.

(Jae added _‘Brian’s laugh’_ to his mental list of things he enjoyed for no particular reason.)

Brian remained silent for a moment before he spoke again,

“Oh, _friends_.” He emphasised with a sheepish smile “I thought she was your girlfriend. Sorry.”

Jae blinked in disbelief before he finally processed what Brian had just said and lost it, almost choking in his laughter. Brian snorted, looking at him in silence.

“No way!” Jae chuckled finally controlling himself “I mean, she _would be_ my type” Jae added “but our personalities are too similar, it would be a _fricking_ _disaster_ , man.”

Brian nodded in understanding before smiling again.

“I see.” He simply said and Jae felt confident to keep talking. He was quite sure, now, that Brian was into Jimin and he found that it really didn’t bother him much. Lucky Jimin if it was mutual, was all he had to say to that.

“It was kind of different with Kevin, though. I mean, how we became buddies. Sure he’s a fun dude and all, but he’s been through some stuff and he’s older than us, so.” He shrugged.

As polite as Jae had predicted, Brian didn’t push the subject, masterfully changing it instead.

“Oh, right. I didn’t ask for your ages. I’m sorry.” He said with an apologetic smile.

Jae waved his apology away.

“It’s chill, bro.” He snorted “I’m 24… _in America_ ” he always forgot that he was older in Korea. He shook his head “ _26_. Jimin is 22 and Kevin is 27, _in here_.” He pointed to the floor, which was, well, technically right, since the floor was part of Korea. Metonymy they called it. The part for the whole. _Whatever._

Brian raised his eyebrows interestedly and smiled.

“Oh, so you’re older than me! I’m 25.” He told him “Should I call you _hyung_?” He asked with a grin looking at him clearly, very clearly waiting for his reaction.

Jae closed his eyes for a moment and brought a dramatic hand to his chest shaking his head.

“Please _don’t._ ” He requested raising his hand and snorting “At least not in English.” He added with a shrug.

“Park Jaehyung- _hyung_.” Brian said aloud and Jae chuckled shaking his head. That sounded so damn silly.

“People do call me that, you know.” He told him gravely shaking his head “And you’re free to do it, if you want. But I’d rather you just call me Jae.”

Brian laughed but he suddenly stopped and dropped the subject as they finally arrived to the bakery Jimin had mentioned.  

“Oh God, my eyes. What the hell did we get ourselves into?” Jae muttered under his breath and Brian chortled at the comment. Jae felt that he wasn’t alone in what he felt. 

The first thing Jae noticed was that it was aggressively pastel-coloured and he felt out of place for a split-second before he remembered that he was wearing a light-pink sweater.

Alright, maybe they wouldn’t be _that_ out of place after all. Brian was wearing a white sweater. Still soft enough.  

The awning was decorated with flowers and stars as were the windows. Jae squinted at the name. It was called Sweet…별자리(byeoljali). Jae could read what was written perfectly but he couldn’t make out the meaning. The only thing that popped in his mind was ‘arrangement’ and that didn’t make any sense at all and it was giving him a full-on identity crisis.

“ _Sweet arrangement?_ ” He gaped at the words and Brian chuckled. 

“ _Constellation_ ” Brian translated “It reads Sweet _Constellation._ ” He gestured towards the stars. Jae felt so dumb. He sighed and shook his head. Right, he knew that word. 

“Oh, that makes sense.” He snorted pointed at the stars “Thanks, bro.”

“No prob.”

The bakery looked even more aggressively pastel-coloured inside. The floor had light pink and white checkers, it looked like the inside of a damn Battenberg Cake, and the tables and booths’ colours ranged from light pink to light blue and light orange. The waitresses wore cute pink dresses with dark blue aprons that matched the equally dark blue ceiling, decorated with constellations, no less, and hand-painted flowers.

Jae was _wrong._

They _were_   _very out of place_ despite their appropriate attire that even matched the decoration.

That was very clearly a place for couples to come drink milkshakes from the same glass and feed pieces of cake to one another. Jae winced and glanced at Brian whose lips, he noticed, were pressed together in what Jae thought was an attempt to conceal his laughter.

(At least they were on the same wavelength.)

Seeing two grown-ass, tall dudes entering such a place together alone was suspicious to say the least but nobody commented. Jae felt self-conscious though.

They sat on a far corner light-blue booth by the front window.

Jae noticed after a while that Brian’s shoulders were trembling silently behind the menu he’d been handed, hiding his face with it. Jae lowered his own menu to take a better look at him.

“You’re laughing.” He chuckled looking at him over his menu and when Brian lowered his own menu he saw that his whole face was red. It looked beyond cute, the smile turning his eyes into adorable slits. Jae felt his heart race a little “What’s up?”

“This is clearly-“ He was having a hard time talking with the effort not to laugh out loud “this is clearly a place where _couples_ come on cute dates!”

Jae snorted loudly.

 _Thank fucking God he’d finally addressed it_.

All around them there were lovey-dovey couples sharing cakes and drinking milkshakes from the same tall glass.

_It was so damn cheesy._

“I know, right!? Look at the names of these cakes!” He cackled showing him his menu “ _Sweet Love Cute Cute Strawberry Sponge Cake_.”

Brian guffawed before covering his mouth to muffle the sound. Several people gave them dirty looks. He wasn’t emitting any sound now, just quivering. Jae thought it was hilariously adorable. There were tears in his eyes

“What about ‘ _Hap-happily Ever After Passionate Chocolate Lava Cake’_?” He wheezed pointing at the name in question. Jae could barely breath. He wiped the corners of his eyes around his glasses, hoping that his damn contacts wouldn’t come off.

“Jimin is gonna lose it when we tell her. She knew what this damn place was like and she didn’t say anything.” Jae chuckled when he finally regained some of his composure, pulling his phone out of his pocket. She was probably already laughing imagining them there. He opened Instagram and pointed the camera at Brian “Pose, bro.” He told him. Brian tried to control his laughter and grinned, his eyes wet, and threw a peace sign.

(Jae would like to have that picture framed for posterity.)

“Captcha.” Jae asked for suggestions and he saw Brian looked to the side with pursed lips and smiling eyes before his face lit up.

“How about ‘Nothing like MANLY dates in the MANLIEST bakery with your BRO’?” He suggested, waving his hand in a semi-circle for emphasis. Jae almost pissed his pants as he typed it out before tagging both Jimin and Brian and adding the tags #MANLYDATES #MANLYLOVELOVECUTECUTECAKES #HARDCOREBAKERY #YOUREJUSTJEALOUSYOURENOTHERETOWITNESSALLTHISMANLINESS #REALLYMISSINGOUTJAMES #SWEETCONSTELLATION #달콤한 별자리

He posted it and the notes immediately started pouring in, but he put his phone down. He noticed that Brian had also grabbed his phone from his pocket and was trying hard not to laugh out loud. Jae noticed the _youngk93_ _started following you_ pop up on the screen.

“You weren’t following me already. Shame, shame, shame.” He dramatically shook his head and Brian smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice that you’d followed me.” He apologised before falling silent for a moment, just smiling at his phone as he scrolled down, tapping twice on the screen every now and then before he looked up at Jae and smiled softly “Your selfies are cute.”

Jae felt like he’d just been punched in the heart but he played it cool. He was good at doing that. Yeah, so good.

“You mean that I’m not cute in real life? I’m hurt, Brian, _so hurt_.” He said dramatically shaking his head “I could already see this friendship going places and you stabbed me like this…” He melodramatically clutched his heart.

But Brian smiled softer than ever before and chuckled before he tilted his head just a little to the side, his eyes on Jae’s who was already _dying_.

“No, I actually think you’re a lot cuter in real life.” He declared and it sounded so honest, it _looked_ so honest.

_Mother of Jesus Christ baking Battenberg Cakes._

Jae opened his mouth dumbly and he was going to attempt to play it off with some joke but the waitress appeared on that moment. She was very clearly forcing herself not to look annoyed at the commotion they were causing with their obnoxious banter…or _flirting_ , Jae didn’t even know what the hell was going on anymore. This damn bakery had some sort of power over people, he was sure of it. He knew that he felt his face get dangerously warm and he cleared his throat to hide it a little.

(Brian _clearly_ didn’t know the effect he had on people when he pulled that shit.)

“Have you decided what you’re going to eat, _gentlemen_?” The waitress asked in a terrifying mellifluous tone. Brian cleared his throat and looked up at her, smiling apologetically.

“I’m sorry… uh…” He picked up the menu “I’ll have the… _Squishy Love Cinnamon and Chocolate Lava Cake_ and a cup of coffee, please. What will you have, Jae- _hyung_?”

Jae pursed his lips and breathed heavily. It made sense that he was using the honorific since they were speaking Korean now. But _Jesus._

“I’ll-I’ll get the… Sweet Love Cu-cute cute Strawberry Sponge Cake and a coke, please.”

“We do not serve cokes, I’m sorry.” She didn’t sound sorry at all.

“Shit…” Jae cussed in English looking at the beverage list “Then I’ll have a cup of coffee as well.”

“Thank you. Your orders will be ready in a moment.” She said and spun on her heels before sliding away.

“She’ll totally spit on our food.” Jae switched back to English as soon as she left and Brian had to cover his mouth again not to laugh out loud. His shoulders were still shaking and he was hiding his face with his hand.

Jae sighed deeply. He still felt his heart racing a bit and it was annoying.

“Are you always just randomly complimenting people like that?” Brian uncovered his face and he snorted with a little confused frown. He didn’t say anything at that moment because the waitress had just returned with their orders. The cakes looked amazingly delicious (despite the cutesy hearts and flowers that had been drawn on them with pink and red icing) but Jae was still suspicious that she’d spat on them. He didn’t care though. He wanted to eat them anyway.

It tasted even better than it looked. Jae completely forgot about the random compliment that almost killed him. That’s how good it was.

“Oh, dear Lord in Heaven.” He moaned after he tasted it, rolling his eyes “This is divine! Holy shit. How’s yours?” Brian also looked like he’d just tasted Heaven (his had little bears and white hearts drawn on) and was pouring melted chocolate. Brian smiled cheekily and forked a bit of his cake and put his hand under it to avoid letting the runny chocolate fall on the table before reaching it towards Jae.

“It’s wonderful. Wanna try, _hyung_?”

Jae’s heart raced ever faster but he snorted before laughing.

“Syke, man! Get away from me. I’ll just fork some, don’t feed it to me, that’s weird!” He said and Brian cackled before eating the fork-full himself and pushing his plate towards Jae, who pushed his own towards him. They tried each other’s cake. Brian’s was different, the cinnamon contrasting with the chocolate in a way he wasn’t used to, but equally delicious. Brian agreed.

They decided to focus on eating the cake before talking again.

“It was really great.” Brian licked his lips before taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee “Definitely will come here again.”

“Same.” Jae agreed and he took a sip of his own coffee “Probably not gonna linger though. Just get the cakes and beat it.” Brian chuckled into his coffee before he fell silent again and looked at Jae.

“You don’t have an accent, Jae.” Brian randomly commented and Jae chuckled and shrugged.

“Figures. I’ve been living in the US for almost 18 years, moved here this year.”

Brian raised his eyebrows and nodded.

“So you’re American?”

“Korean-American.” Jae corrected with a smile “But I was born in Argentina, I did elementary there after living in here for a couple years as a toddler.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of places. It’s really interesting.” Brian commented and Jae chuckled. He knew it was honest but it just sounded so sarcastic in English.

“What?”

Jae shook his head and drank a bit more of his coffee.

“Cultural things I’m still getting used to. Translating cultures is tough work.”

“True.” Brian chuckled “I feel that and I’ve only been away for four years.”

“Ah, that explains why you still have an accent.” Jae smiled knowingly and Brian returned his smile “You’re pretty good though, for someone who’s only been there for four years.” Jae admired and Brian shrugged.

“Thanks. Yeah, I was born and raised in Ilsan. I moved to Canada and did High School there.” Brian told him as he sipped on his coffee and looked outside for a moment. Jae just kept looking at him in silence as he drank his own coffee. It was weird to think that he’d started talking with Brian that very day. It felt like they’d known each other for a long time and were just catching up. It was really easy to talk with Brian and Jae felt like an even bigger idiot for not trying to talk to him earlier.

“Your family’s in Canada right now?” Jae asked and Brian nodded, focusing his attention back on him “Mine’s in the US, so whatever you’re feeling, I probably get it.” It was the right thing to say as Brian smiled fondly.

“Yeah, I miss them a lot.” Brian said and Jae nodded as he finished his coffee.

Jae looked outside and noticed that the sun was setting. He checked the time on his phone. Half past seven.

“Oh, shit. How long have we been in here?” Jae gasped looking at Brian who seemingly had just realised how late it was as well and snorted at that. Jae slapped both his thighs. “Let’s go, man. It’s late. We gotta go pay the bill. I’m so gonna cry when I see it though.” He winced as he stood up. Brian was already reaching for his wallet and pulling out his credit card as he stood up as well.

“Don’t worry about it” he casually said as they walked over to the till “I’ll pay for everything.”

 _A gentleman._ Where’s the fricking catch, honestly. He couldn’t just be _that_ perfect. Jae snorted at that.

“Loaded, are we?”

“Nah, I give guitar lessons to kids for some extra cash and I just got paid” Brian grinned “Pick some cakes for Jimin. Get a load.”

Jae had the sudden mental image of a bunch of teenage girls calling Brian _oppa_ and he was going to joke about it at some point, just not now. He felt drained. Out of jokes for once. Brian stressed him out with his unintentionally flirty personality.

“Gotcha, bro.”

Jae proceeded to pick all the cakes he knew that Jimin would like, Brian paid for everything and they left.

* * *

 

“Even the fricking boxes are cutesy. This is insane.” Jae scoffed at the pink box with the name of the bakery which was decorated with flowers and stars. Brian laughed out loud.

“You hate cute stuff that much?”

“If you had my roommate, you’d be fed up as well, man.” Jae scoffed shaking his head “He’s the kind of little shit that’ll randomly kiss your hair and leave you notes saying shit like ‘Have a great day, Jaehyung-hyung’ and ‘Fighting, Jaehyung-hyung!’ with little hearts drawn and stuff.”

Brian snorted.

“It’s nice of him though.”

“He knows it annoys me.” Jae complained “That’s why he keeps doing it, the little snake.” Brian laughed out loud at the insult.

“Do I know your roommate?” He asked and Jae shrugged.

“Maybe you do. He’s brilliant with the keys, maybe you’ve heard of Kim Wonpil? Younger than us, kind of short?”

Brian raised his eyebrows and nodded.

“Oh, yeah, I did hear about him.” He chuckled “He’s always seemed like a nice person to me, though. Not a snake at all.” Jae sighed.

“Don’t get me wrong, he _is_ a nice kid.” Jae clarified, gesturing with his free hand “Doesn’t mean he’s not a little snake anyway. In fact…” Jae paused dramatically looking ahead at the fading colours of the sun, the box with the cakes dangling from his hand “I’m surrounded by fricking snakes. This is unacceptable.” Brian chuckled and glanced at him with a little smirk.

“I hope I don’t make the snake list.”

“Too late. You’re already in it, I’m afraid.” Jae said theatrically and Brian guffawed heartily and Jae couldn’t help smiling. He definitely enjoyed the sound of his laugh.

“Why I am-sorry, why am I a snake?” He asked, his English breaking a little because of his amusement. Jae glanced at him.

“Always smiling your way out of everything.” He said and then he remembered the random compliments “And randomly complimenting people to get out of tough situations. The snake of snakes.”

Brian smiled looking somewhat surprised.

“You understood that from one day.” He said but then he fell silent, raising an eyebrow and pursing his lips “The compliments part is not true though. I never give fake compliments.” He told him and he looked a little upset, so much so that Jae wanted to apologise but then he proceeded, revengefully “I would say that you’re also a snake, then.”

Jae was too offended at being called a snake to think much about telling him that it wasn’t just from one day’s observations that he’d picked that up and apologising like he wanted to do.

(Maybe it was for the best.)

“ _Me_? A snake? I’m a pure child of God, mind _you_.” He gestured with his free hand for emphasis.

“You always joke your way out of things.” Brian stated with a wry smile that caught Jae off guard.

(Well, shit, son, if that wasn’t just about right.)

Jae remained silent for a moment.

“Well, I guess everyone’s a snake then, because nobody’s honest all the time.” He said with a shrug.

“True.” Brian agreed before falling silent and seemingly being hit by some sort of sudden realisation. He scoffed in disbelief.

“Hang on, Kim Wonpil lives in _my_ dorm! I’ve seen him in the laundry room a couple times.” He told Jae, looking at him. Jae stopped in the middle of the now definitely less crowded pavement and Brian stopped as well.

“Shut up! We live in the same dorm?” Jae deadpanned having a tough time believing that he’d never spotted Brian in the _six months_ he’d lived there “What floor are you on?”

“South wing, I always come in from the south door.” Brian cackled “This is so silly! Which floor are you on?”

“D-floor.” Jae shook his head “Same as Jimin’s, in case you wanna know.” But Brian didn’t seem particularly interested in that piece of info. He was still laughing.

“And we were walking in the same direction and didn’t even talk about it!” Brian noticed and Jae puffed his cheeks before snorting.

“Right!?” They started walking again “I don’t know, I guess I was just gonna, you know, go along with you until you went like ‘This is where we part ways’ or some shit.” Jae confessed and Brian cackled before snorting. Jae pulled his phone out of his pocket and casually handed it to Brian.

“Gimme your number.” He asked. Brian didn’t question it. He just did as he was told before he rang his own phone and handed Jae’s phone back to him. Jae checked how he’d saved his contact. ‘Brian Kang’. It would do.

_(For now.)_

“What did you save me as?” Jae asked curiously when he saw Brian pocket his own phone again. Brian glanced at him a cheeky smile.

“’Jae- _oppa_ ’.” He quipped with a little wink.

Jae almost choked before cackling.

“Get out!”

“Nah, I just saved you as ‘Jae’.” He told him before yawning and stretching his arm which made the sleeve of his white sweater ride up to reveal a wristwatch that Jae had only just noticed he wore. It was past 8pm “Ah, I don’t feel like cooking…” he grumbled, scrunching his nose in a funny way.

“Not gonna lie, I don’t feel like cooking either. But I’m hungry, still.” Jae agreed but then he wiggled his finger emphatically “You won’t catch Jae going to bed with no dinner in his stomach, no sir.”

“What if we ate somewhere?” Brian suggested casually and Jae threw his head back and whined. He didn’t want to waste money when he had food back at the dorm and he also didn’t want to have Brian pay for anything else. He wasn’t a bloody gold-digger.

“What if we just did a dine and dash? How fast can you run?” He chuckled. And he was joking, honestly. He didn’t mean that for real. _It was a joke._ Brian stopped on his tracks, right in front of a red van parked in front of a particularly crowded restaurant.

“Pardon?”

“Right, you’re Canadian.” Jae snickered and stopped as well “Dine and dash is like, when you go to a restaurant and you eat and drink and then leave without paying.”

Brian widened his eyes and covered his mouth. Jae genuinely expected him to tell him off, to dissuade him and tell him that that _was crime_. _A terrible idea_. How could he _even_? What he didn’t expect was for Brian’s entire face to light up under the electric lights over the restaurant in a devious smile. Of course, he couldn’t be perfect, Jae was right. There it was, the _catch._

“Have you ever done that?” He whispered and Jae gasped in shock, almost dropping the box with the cakes for Jimin.

“No! I was joking. Holy shit, Brian!” He almost choked before he stopped and whispered as well, blinking in disbelief “Do you really think we could do that?”

His heart skipped a beat when he saw Brian shrug and grin. If they actually pulled that stunt (committed that actual fucking _crime,_ mind) that would officially be Jae’s craziest date ever.

“There’s only one way of finding out.” Brian shrugged. Jae swallowed hard but he didn’t back down.

 

* * *

 

 

The stress of what they were about to do didn’t stop Jae from stuffing his face with food and drinks. That was a cheap restaurant, which meant loads of food for little money. Or no money, in their case. Oh, God, that could go so _, so_ wrong. Brian didn’t seem to be nervous at all though. They ate in silence, looking at each other from time to time. Brian kept smiling and winking at him and boy, if Jae didn’t have a crush before, he did now. He _so_ did now. Danger kink? _Maybe._ He was losing his damn mind. Jae was indeed getting to know Brian. He found that he was too intense.

They could end up _in jail._

When they ordered dessert and the waiter walked away Jae called Brian urgently.

“Okay, this is time we should think about beating it.” He whispered, looking around, swallowing hard “One of us needs to leave first and the other…” He noticed that there was guy sitting alone at the table right next to theirs looking around with a stoic yet somewhat stressed look on his face. He seemed like he was up to the same shit they were up to “I’ll be damned if that dude isn’t about to pull the same shit as us.” He snorted, feeling a little less stressed at the prospect.

Brian looked at the guy before looking back at Jae and whispering back with a smile “It’ll be alright… look, you’ll leave first since you stand out more.” Jae was going to argue against that but Brian kept talking so he remained quiet “You’ll walk out casually” he gestured slightly towards the door “the waiter will come back and won’t think much of your absence… he’ll go back and get the bill and then I’ll…” he looked at the guy again and his eyes lit up with an idea. Jae was terrified. “Actually… I think that after you leave… if that guy is also planning to leave without paying, he’ll go right after you.” He said “When the waiter returns, he’ll notice that he’s gone and he’ll go back to call someone or look for him or whatever… I’ll run then.” Brian stated confidently and Jae whimpered and covered his face with both his hands. That could go so fucking wrong. What if the waiter decided to chase the guy? That if Brian’s hunch was right, of course. Jae’s heart was beating so hard it hurt. He felt his eyes getting wet.

“Hey, Jae, it’s fine. Trust me.” Brian whispered peeling Jae’s hands off his face and holding them in his. It was somewhat comforting but Jae snorted desperately.

“Why should I trust you, man!? You’ve never even done this! We could go to jail, bro. Do you know what they do to guys like us in jail!? We’re too beautiful to go to jail, Brian.” He whimpered and Brian chuckled. Jae was so _fucked._ Always look on the bright side.

_The bright side._

(He knew what the catch was. Brian was too damn _daring.)_

“It’ll be alright, Jae. We won’t go to jail.” Brian assured and Jae breathed heavily before nodding and mentally starting to pray “Alright, _go_. Casually, act normal. As if you’re just going out to breathe some fresh air. I’ll meet you in no more than five minutes.”

Jae nodded again and stood up. He could almost smell prison even though he’d never even visited a prison. He pulled himself together though.

_He had to do it for Brian._

He calmly walked out, even faking a yawn and stretch on his way out.

He started feeling anxious when he stepped onto the now empty pavement and the chilly night breeze brushed his hair. He looked at the door praying to every possible deity that Brian would turn up soon. If Brian got caught and ended up in jail it would be entirely his fault and he would never forgive himself. He kept praying mentally.

However, it seemed like Brian’s hunch was right. The next person that came out of the restaurant was the lone dude who was sitting at the table beside theirs. He looked wildly around and spotted Jae, acknowledging his presence.

“Hi.” The stranger greeted with a guilty smile.

“Hello.” Jae greeted back, raising an awkward hand as he looked at the door waiting for Brian to appear.

Brian didn’t appear. the next person who appeared was _the fucking waiter_ , looking like a wild hound. Brian came right behind him eagerly looking for Jae.

Oh shit, _oh shit._

“This is my van.” The lone dude said urgently already unlocking the doors “Get in!” He told Jae who jumped onto the back of the van in one swift motion he didn’t think himself capable of pulling. Adrenaline for sure.

“BRIAN!” Jae yelled in despair as the escape driver revved off. The waiter didn’t seem to realise that Brian was the name of a person when he ran back inside and right past Brian who didn’t miss the chance.

Brian suddenly started sprinting after the van for his dear life.

“STOP THE VAN, PLEASE! PLEASE!” Jae yelled desperately at the escape driver and he suddenly hit the brakes making Jae tumble backwards gracelessly, hitting his ass on the cold metal. He heard a door opening and closing with a loud bang before the van started moving fast again.

Jae turned around, ignoring the pain on his ass and back and lied flat on his stomach, before he reached up and peeked over the edge of the van, his heart drumming hard against his ribs. He still saw the people from the restaurant waving in their direction before they turned on a corner and the restaurant disappeared from Jae’s sight.

_They had actually fucking made it._

And Jae still had the cakes. They were probably a bit battered but they would still taste good, he was sure of that. He sighed deeply.

He had almost shat a fucking brick though.

He breathed heavily and lied on his face on the cold bottom of the back of the van before he turned around and lied on his back, his arms wide open, staring at the dark night sky. He could not believe what they had just done.

_They had literally committed a fricking crime._

Had almost gotten caught for it, too. _Jesus._

Like, he didn’t even have a comparison point. That was officially the craziest date of his entire life. He didn’t know what he had envisioned for his date with Brian, but that was definitely not it. _Potential criminal_ wasn’t something that popped in one’s mind when one looked at the likes of Kang Younghyun.

Never judge a damn book by its cover was the lesson to take from that.

(He wasn’t _that_ unhappy with the content of the book, he wouldn’t lie.)

“You alright back there?” He heard Brian call from the front seat, not speaking in English anymore.

Jae almost cried at the sound of his voice.

_He was really there._

Jae sat down and they exchanged a look and that was all it took for them to start guffawing. The wind carried the sound of Brian’s laugh and it somehow helped Jae calm down. Their accomplice was also laughing along with them.

“I can’t believe what we’ve just done!” Jae exclaimed kneeling and leaning onto the window behind the front seats, which had no glass “You were like…so, so chilled out!”

“I was a bit nervous. Especially when, when the waiter went for the door.” Brian confessed with a chuckle before turning to their accomplice who had been silent the whole time “We wouldn’t have been able to escape if it weren’t for you. Thanks for stopping to get me.” Brian told their accomplice who chuckled.

“No problem." He said with a small smile "But we have no names yet.” 

“Kang Younghyun..." Brian introduced himself before he added "or Brian Kang if you prefer.” He smiled “Nice to meet you.”

“Park Jaehyung." Since followed his example before snorting "I go by Jae as well.” Jae said with a chuckle.

His heart was beating so fast still.

The image of Brian running after the van was still carved in his brain.

That could have gone so damn wrong if the driver hadn’t actually stopped when Jae told him.

(The fright of a lifetime _for sure_.)

“Park Sungjin. Nice to meet you both.” He said.

“You also broke?” Jae asked and Sungjin shook his head.

“No, I noticed that I didn’t have my wallet on me when I was already eating. It was too late.” He said gravely “It was a bad thing we did back there though.”

“Never doing it again. We were so fricking lucky.” Jae sighed shaking his head and Sungjin chuckled.

“I didn’t know what you were talking about at first because you were speaking in English but then I noticed Younghyun gesturing towards the door and I took the shot.” He told them.

Brian and Jae lost it again.

“So did we!” Brian exclaimed “We just assumed that you were also going to leave without paying!”

“I’ll never do this again though.” Sungjin breathed heavily “Too stressful, not worth it.” He fell silent for a moment “Are you foreigners?”

“I lived in the US most of my life.” Jae told him. It was so fucking weird to have this kind of casual chat after committing an actual crime.

“I was born and raised here but I lived in Canada for a while.” Brian told Sungjin who hummed in understanding.

“That’s why you have Korean names.” He smiled “Alright, I can drop you off anywhere. Where do you live?”

They were surprised to find out that Sungjin had also studied in the same Arts School as them and had lived in the same dorm as them until the previous year, when he’d finished his studies.

“I’m doing mostly odd jobs now, though.” Sungjin told them and they listened in silence “And busking sometimes with my guitar. I guess some average dude from Busan didn’t stand much of a chance in the industry.”

“Aw, don’t say that.” Jae said, patting his shoulder which made him snort.

Brian frowned, seemingly lost in thought before he spoke again.

“Now that I think of it…” he started “I think I’ve heard the name Park Sungjin before… our guitar tutor Kim Wonho-ssi” he turned back to look at Jae who nodded “he keeps going on and on about the brilliant guitarist with the outstanding vocals who disappeared.” Jae’s face lit up in a grin.

“Park Sungjin! Yes!” He exclaimed happily, poking the driver’s back with his finger “It has to be you!”

Sungjin was silent as he drove.

“Are you serious?” He asked and Brian grinned.

“It seems like the average guy from Busan did stand out.” He said and Sungjin smiled, for real this time. A smile that reached his eyes.

“That’s… really unexpected.” Sungjin confessed and looked at Brian, who was sitting right beside him, before looking at Jae from the rear-view mirror and looking at the road again before shifting the gear. He fell silent for a moment and they just expected him to speak because it was clear that he wanted to “I kind of…" Sungjin started with a light shrug "I mean, my dream has always been to have a band, you know?" He paused, glancing at them with a small smile "Like, a real band that plays instruments, not a group of idols." He proceeded "Not that there’s something wrong with being an idol… I’m just not fit for it” he shrugged again, chuckling a little “and I prefer rock music.”

“Same. I prefer rock too.” Brian said and Jae nodded in agreement.

The boys fell silent each of them lost in thought.

It was too soon to start saying things but maybe.

Just _maybe._

Jimin and Kevin wouldn’t believe a word of it when Jae told them just how fricking crazy his _date-not-date_ /dine and dash with Brian Kang had been. Wonpil would probably cry if he told him so he probably wouldn’t tell him.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should feel sorry about this. i really should.


	2. Platonically Sleeping with People, a poem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honesty and good communication are key to every relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: dumb poetry, bad jokes and loads of dialogue ahead  
> (I seriously don't know how it got this long, but the warning was in the tags. I already had this chapter written. I have loads of it written down already tbh but editing takes me a long time because i want to catch the typos and shit but lel I only see them after the things are published so why do I even both e r? /jumps off a cliff)
> 
> I was planning for this to be like a half-time kind of chapter, just building their relationship through good, wholesome communication and introducing another ship. I didn't want it to be as all over the place as the first one, but lmfao nope, it's just as messy. Well.
> 
> I hope you still like it anyway /sweats loudly

* * *

 

It was a miracle that they made it back to the dorms in one piece.

_An actual fricking miracle._

They even forgot to ask Sungjin for his number so that they could keep in touch with him. Brian shrugged it off with a casual ‘ _next time’_ , just assuming that they would meet Sungjin again.

Jae didn’t argue with that, mostly because he was kind of hoping that they would find their saviour, who just so happened to be some kind of myth in their school.

Jae was still shaking a little when they got to Jimin’s door but he felt _mostly_ calm now that they were safe.

“Here you are! Where the hell have you bee- oh, hi, Brian.” Jimin was going to go off on Jae before she noticed that Brian was still with him and controlled herself a little. She took the battered box with the cakes from Jae’s hands and eyed it suspiciously “I called you at least five times, man. Always with your damn phone on silent mode.” She complained as Jae walked into her room “I thought you were dead somewhere!” She shook her head and Jae was already walking into her room but Brian waited by the door, Jae noticed, naturally waiting to be invited in “What’s wrong, Brian?”

“He’s a vampire, can’t you tell?” Jae joked, finally feeling the cheek coming back to him, and Jimin looked back at him as Brian chuckled “Has to be invited in?” Jae deadpanned “You uncultured swine. Only knows about the sparkly vampires.” He scorned.

“It was enjoyable when I was a kid, let me live.” She complained before turning back to Brian with a smile “Come in.”

“I’m not a vampire.” Brian assured with a coy smile and Jae narrowed his eyes at him “I promise.”

“A vampire would say that.” Jae said with a chuckle and Jimin laughed.

“Well, I’m willing to take the risk. Come on in, Brian.” She gestured again with her head and Brian bowed his head a little before walking in.

“Excuse me.” Brian said politely.

“Make yourself comfortable… maybe not like that guy over there.” She pursed her lips at Jae who had already taken her bed after kicking off his trainers and was lying on it like it was his own bed “I washed those sheets yesterday. Don’t want them to smell like your feet just yet.”

“ _Rude_.” Jae gasped in outrage but he didn’t move an inch “Besides, I had a very distressing evening so I need to lie down for a bit.”

Jimin furrowed her eyebrows and looked from him to Brian, who pointed an easy chair by the window as if asking if he could sit on it and she nodded. He smiled and sat down.

“What? Going to a cute bakery with Brian wore you out?” Jimin joked before taking her desk’s chair. She had a single room so she had loads of storing space and loads of stuff.

She had an extra table with shelves above it where she kept loads of assorted beauty products.

There was also a _Hello Kitty_ lamp on the wall that Jae had stopped making fun of her for a long time ago. Specifically, when they’d had a power outage in the dorm late in the night and she’d run to his room, looking openly terrified. She feared the dark and that wasn’t funny at all. He’d given her a genuine hug and told her she could stay over with him and Wonpil until the power returned. Jae was all about banter and jokes but he had limits and in the end, he was a respectful person.

Jae snorted and sighed dramatically.

“Ah, I wish…”

Jae went on for about fifteen minutes telling her all the details of their shenanigans, from the Battenberg Cake-coloured bakery, to the fact that Brian had been their dormmate the whole time to their actual crime and escape in some stranger’s shady red van.

“Shut up.” Jimin gaped when Jae finally finished telling their tale and then she looked at Brian for confirmation. She covered her mouth with her hand when he nodded with a guilty smile.

“It’s all my fault…” Brian said “I was kind of curious… to see what would happen…”

Jimin fell silent for a solid five seconds, taking all that information in.

“You’re messing with me.” She snorted shaking her head, clearly not believing it “No way, you didn’t really…” She looked from Jae, who shrugged, to Brian who still looked very apologetic despite his smile “You really did it. Holy _shit._ ” She picked up the box with the cakes from her desk and opened it. She didn’t even comment on the fact that they were a mess when she grabbed a handful and stuffed it in her mouth, looking at them without blinking. Jae could almost see the gears spinning in her brain as she thought about how wrong that could have gone.

“You guys are _crazy,_ you could have, you could have ended up in jail! You were lucky there was another dude wanting to do the same stuff as you.” She shook her head, her voice muffled with cake “These are really delicious though…” She whined, clearly delighted. Brian smiled at the look on her face and Jae chuckled before he sighed deeply.

“Not gonna lie, the word _‘jail’_ crossed my mind more than once.”

“And you ran after the van?” Jimin asked Brian who nodded “In _those_ shoes?” She gestured towards his black oxfords and he snorted with a shrug.

“I did." Brian confirmed "Jae fell backwards when Park Sungjin stopped it to get me." He glanced at Jae who was snickering "I thought my heart was going to come out of my mouth.” Brian confessed with a deep, honest sigh “I really thought I would get caught.”

Jimin raised an eyebrow, looking at him with her mouth full of cake.

“Park Sungjin? The guitarist? What are you- oh, that’s the other guy’s name.” Jimin nodded, Jae had forgotten to mention the name of their saviour “Right, I thought you meant someone else.”

Jae chuckled.

“It’s actually him.” He told her and she pursed her lips. Jae didn’t really blame her for having a hard time believing all that stuff, honestly, he probably wouldn’t believe it either “It’s _the legendary_ Park Sungjin.” Jimin pursed her lips before scoffing.

“Alright, now you’re shitting me for sure.” She chuckled “I’ve seen this guy and he doesn’t look the type. He looks like the cool big brother type.”

Jae cackled at that.

“Do you mean that Brian and I look the type? Boy, I’ve been called many things…” Brian chortled and Jimin munched on more cake before she spoke again.

“That’s not what I mean…” She muttered before scrunching her whole face in annoyance “I hate that damn woman for making me miss all that!” She grunted and Jae snorted loudly.

“You wouldn’t say that, if you’d been there.” He assured her “I won’t even pretend I wasn’t terrified… Brian there, on the other hand…” Jimin looked at Brian who had covered his eyes and suddenly uncovered them looking up at him.

“I was also nervous!” He exclaimed, chuckling and brushing back his black hair “Don’t make me sound like an experienced criminal!”

Jimin laughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Some girls dig the ‘ _bad boy_ ’ type, don’t sweat it.” Jae teased with a grin and Jimin snorted, looking at him. Brian just chuckled and shook his head.

Jimin didn’t know that Jae thought that Brian was into her, Jae hadn’t told her that, but something in the way she played into his game made him think that she was testing it.

 _(Damn,_ perceptive little shit.)

“ _Some guys_ also dig it.” Jimin said, offhandedly, grinning as she stuffed more cake into her mouth “Nothing wrong with a wholesome bad boy type. Of course, it has to be a bad boy with a good heart.” She added gravely.

Brian looked from her to Jae who was still smiling impishly. He smiled at Jae before looking back to Jimin.

“Well, I’m sorry I’m not the bad boy type, then.” He said with a little shrug “At least I don’t think I am.” He added and Jimin cackled before falling silent, musing.

“Hm...can’t really fit you in any of the common types, to be honest.” Jimin said casually with a shrug “You’re like… you have that, that brooding air about you that keeps people away but then, then you’re super gentle... it’s weird.”

Brian listened in silence, always smiling and Jae was visibly curious to know what he would say. It was kind of true though. He did have the brooding air about him sometimes. But whenever someone spoke to him he just starting flashing smiles around so... Jimin was kind of right. It _was_ weird (but in a good, _unacceptably handsome_ way, mind).

“I keep people away?” Brian asked softly and he sounded a bit bummed despite his smile. Jae wanted to whack himself over the head with Jimin’s bedside-table lamp. They’d made Brian sad. _Shit._

Jimin faltered and quickly shook her head.

“No, no. I-I didn’t express it properly!” She quickly assured, stammering a little “What I mean is… that you, you look _too cool_ and people _may_ be scared to talk to you because, because of that.”

Brian fell silent again and looked at Jae who was also looking at him. He didn’t say anything but somehow, Jae felt like he wanted to say something to him. He just chuckled.

“Thanks, I guess.” Brian finally said, looking at Jimin “I think that after, uh, talking to me you know that I’m not _too cool_ at all.” He smiled meekly with a shrug “I’m sorry I pass that idea.”

Jae laughed heartily and it was kind of exaggerated to try and ease the mood but it worked. Jimin also laughed and so did Brian.

“You _are_ cool.” Jae said “But you’re also a nerd, like the rest of us, commoners.” He grinned and Brian grinned back. Jae felt a weight being lifted from his chest. Brian wasn’t sad. Thank _God._

“Excuse _you,_ the only nerd I see here, is you.” Jimin scoffed pointing at Jae.

“Accept the truth, James, you’re also a nerd. We’re all nerds.” Jae said gravely “It’s about time we all embraced it.”

“I have no problems with being a nerd. I think it’s better than being a _‘brooding bad boy’_.” Brian echoed before he shrugged with a smile. Jae chortled and Jimin sighed deeply, shaking her head and pushing the box with the cakes away from herself.

“Alright then, you nerds." She said standing up "Thanks for the cakes and, uh, I’m really glad you’re both back in one piece but I got stuff to do. _Homework,_ Park Jaehyung.” She said looking at the suddenly sad man lying on her bed who groaned when he remembered that he had homework to get done for the next day.

( _Fuck you, past Jae. You should have gotten that shit done earlier_.)

“And a girl has to sleep, so both of you _, out.”_ She pointed the door with her thumb.

Jae begrudgingly peeled himself off her bed and grabbed his trainers without putting them on as Brian stood up from the easy chair.

“Thanks for letting us hang out here, Jimin.” Brian said with a smile and she smiled back.

“No problem. Sorry if you, if you misunderstood what I meant with the brooding thing" she told him with snort "I think you’re a really nice person.” She smiled awkwardly and he shook his head dismissively with a chuckle “You can come hang out any time, we could play cards or something.” She shrugged “The more the merrier and" she squinted at Jae who was smiling _sweetly_ "and it’ll be nice to have another decent player around... because _Jae is a cheater_.” Jae was already out of the door and pretended not to know what she was talking about.

“Alright, good night, Waluigi. You’re welcome for the cakes. Bye-bye.”

“Yeah, act like you’re not a damn cheater, dork." She scoffed, before looking at Brian again "He even cheats at Pictionary, can you believe!?” She complained as Brian chuckled at their banter “Good night, Brian. And good night to you too." She scrunched her nose at Jae "I hope Wonpil greets you with a bone-crushing hug!” She showed him her tongue before closing the door of her room and leaving them out in the corridor.

“Don’t think too much of it.” Jae told Brian as they walked together to the end of that corridor, Jae with no shoes on and his trainers in his hand, passing through the door to another corridor which was the one Jae’s room was at “We’re always like this. It’s all in good spirits.”

Brian chuckled.

“That’s the best kind of friendship. It’s alright.” He said and they finally arrived to D-14, Jae’s room. Jae was tempted to invite him in but if Wonpil was there, it wouldn’t be too much fun. He didn’t say bye to Brian though (they say that hope is the last thing to go for a reason).

He put his key in the keyhole and opened the door, peeking inside the room. Wonpil wasn’t there and he couldn’t help grinning. He did kind of wonder where his roommate would be at that time of the night but he wasn’t too upset about it.

( **Newsflash:** he wasn’t upset at all because it meant that he could coax... _casually invite_ Brian to stay over for a while).

“Well, seems like Wonpil isn’t here yet, uh" he looked at Brian and smiled "I’ll text him in a bit to check on him. Wanna come in and, like, stay for a while?”

Brian beamed brightly before he nodded. Jae felt like he would go blind at some point. _Jesus._

“Yeah, that would be cool.” He replied walking in.

Jae’s room was bigger than Jimin’s because, unlike hers, it was a shared room. It had two beds, two sets of desks and chairs, and two easy chairs. There were also two tall shelves filled with books, stacks of Xerox copies and some beauty products. There was an acoustic guitar and an electric one propped against the wall on what was clearly Jae’s side of the room and a Yamaha keyboard on the other side, right next to a high pile of Xerox copies and books.

“My bed. Go for it.” Jae pointed before dropping freely on Wonpil’s bed and chucking his trainers under his easy chair, as Brian sat on his bed, across from him.

(Yes, he wanted to have direct eye contact with him, judge him).

Jae sighed before he looked at Brian who was clearly expecting that he spoke first “I’ll start talking in a moment, lemme just text that little shit.” He told him as he fished his phone out of his pocket and typed out a message to Wonpil after switching the keyboard back into Korean.

_«I’m home. Got company. Where are you to? »_

Wonpil usually texted quickly so Jae thought it was a bit odd when he only saw the message after a full minute and only replied after about thirty seconds of reading it.

**_«I’m in the dorm. I’m glad you’re back safely, hyung.»_ **

Jae squinted at the message. There was definitely something odd about it. He hadn’t said when he would return or where he was, but that wasn’t it.

_It was the lack of emojis._

“Something wrong?” Brian asked clearly noticing the look on Jae’s face.

“Not sure...” Jae answered cautiously, standing up and putting his phone on his desk and pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, they didn’t have any lenses but that was a habit of his. He tended to do that when he was musing about something or feeling fidgety. He sat back on Wonpil’s bed.

“He said he’s in the dorm and he sounded like himself but…” he puckered his lips and shook his head “there’s definitely something off…”

Brian had also fetched his phone and typed out a message but when the reply came he didn’t seem half as suspicious of it as Jae had.

“I was texting my roomie too.” Brian told Jae, looking up at him from his phone, which he put back in pocket before leaning back on his elbows and leaving his legs apart “He’s also in the dorm. All’s good.”

Jae shook his head to put Wonpil (and the stuff he was _definitely_ up to) to the side and focus on his company. And how at ease he looked. So different from what he was used to in his _maybe-not-as-sneaky-as-he-thought_ lingering looks in his direction. Jae couldn’t help innocently admiring the sight just a little bit, like, how could he _not_?

(Okay, maybe not _that_ innocently.

Brian didn’t notice, but when he leaned back, his sweater rode up a bit and exposed his lean stomach just a little. Jae’s eyes lingered _just the fraction of a second_ on Brian’s _fine_ waistline, a tiny bit past his silvery belt buckle, the dark denim just over... and he slapped himself mentally for that.

 _Be decent, Jae_ , I know you’ve been eyeing this guy for six months but that’s rude.

 _Rude._ )

“You can take off your shoes, if you wanna. Your feet must hurt.” Jae told him nonchalantly. Brian nodded and leaned forward again before untying his oxfords and putting them aside. He leaned back again with a soft, tired smile, looking over at Jae.

(Fucking hell, how could someone look that good so effortlessly!?

Jae wanted to demand compensation for emotional damage).

“Thanks.” Brian smiled, raspy and languid, wiggling his toes in his white socks and sighing “Kind of needed that, after all that walking… and then running.” He snorted, looking at Jae who looked back at him, the laughter already bubbling in his chest.

They laughed together, the sound mixing in the quiet room.

“Man, I still don’t, I don't believe we did that, bro.” Jae breathed when he stopped laughing, unable to stop smiling “We literally started talking today and we’re already partners in crime.” He dramatically shook his head “Guess we’re stuck together, now. Sorry, bro.”

Brian laughed for a while longer because of the comment.

“It was fun, though.” Pause, his eyes met with Jae’s “I think I'm not against sticking together.” He confessed, guiltily, and with that soft smile of his, and _the bloody head tilt_.

 _(Ay, Dios mío_. Was it getting hot in that room or what!)

“Thanks for inviting me out. It was an awesome…” He paused, _hesitated_ really, but his eyes were still on Jae’s “can I, can I call it a _date_ without it being weird?” He asked with that apologetic smile Jae had already learnt to recognise.

Jae’s breath faltered for a second. Brian was disarmingly honest and Jae wasn’t used to that. He was not used to that _at all._ He didn’t know how to deal with it properly. So he just laughed, feeling his face get a dangerously warm.

“Jesus, man!” He chuckled and Brian squeezed his eyes shut with a closed mouth smile.

“It is weird, _shit._ I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not! It’s fine.” Jae assured immediately and Brian opened one eye “It’s just that…” Jae tried to explain what it really was “Look, people aren’t... they're not usually that honest about that kind of stuff, you know what I mean?” He snorted and Brian listened, now looking mildly confused, so Jae tried to explain it better with a sigh “Like, if it was me asking that, like…” He mused a little, looking at the window “I would probably go like ‘ _Yeah, bro, it was great hanging out with you_ ’ or something like that. Even though it did, it did kind of feel like a date in that damn bakery.” He confessed with a sigh.

Brian was smiling again and Jae noticed that it was a wry kind of smile.

“I see.” He simply said.

Jae squinted at him. That wasn’t all that he wanted to say and Jae felt it in his gut.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Brian shrugged and Jae puffed his cheeks in slight annoyance. It was a childish attitude and he knew it but he didn’t care at the moment.

“Just say it, whatever it is you wanna say. Bring it on, bro.” He gestured emphatically and Brian leaned forward, supporting his elbows on his thighs and looking at him in silence for a moment. Jae waited expectantly.

“I don’t really have something else to say to that.” Brian said with a smile, and it was so anticlimactic that Jae snorted.

“You definitely have something else to say.” Jae pressed him (in for a penny in for the whole fucking pound, man).

“Not to that.” Brian insisted and he shrugged. Jae blinked and raised a thin eyebrow at him.

“Okay. You have something else to say then?” Brian nodded.

“Then say it?” Jae gestured with his hands.

“You’re confusing me, Jae.” Brian snorted and leaned back again with a sigh “You say you don’t like it when people are dishonest, then when I’m honest you say I shouldn’t be honest, and now…” he paused, pursing his lips “now you want me to be honest again. Which is it?”

Jae blinked at him, falling silent for a solid minute, the gears in his brain spinning slowly as he tried to figure out what Brian was trying to say.

It was late and they’d had a long, eventful day, Jae was tired and he could tell that Brian was tired as well.

(He had the feeling that Brian was into poetry because Jae couldn’t understand what the hell he was on about.)

It was truly amazing that they’d only started talking that day.

_At lunch._

They’d started talking less than twelve hours ago and in the meantime, they’d gone on a cheesy-ass _date_ in some bakery, found out they were in the same dorm, committed a crime and escaped in a strange dude’s red van, who could have well been a serial killer but just so happened to be an alumnus of their school and a very nice person.

 _Right,_ and he’d developed an actual crush on Brian. There was also that. And nope, he wasn’t denying it, at least not to himself.

(Always honest with himself, he was.)

“Look, it’s been a long day, I barely, uh, I barely know who I am anymore.” Jae finally said with a sigh and Brian chuckled “I definitely prefer it when people are honest and come clean, though. So please, whatever you wanna say, hit me. I’m all ears.”

Brian fell silent for a moment before he spoke again.

“What Jimin said” he started and then paused for a moment “about, uh, me keeping people away...”

Jae covered his lenseless glasses with his hands. He was still upset about that. _Dammit,_ Jimin.

“It’s not-“ but Brian made a sound that hinted that he was going to keep talking so Jae shut up.

“Is that the reason why you didn’t come talk to me?” He asked and Jae felt his heart drop to his stomach.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

Brian looked at him in the eyes (Jae suddenly regretted taking Wonpil’s bed).

“If you didn’t look away so quickly when you saw me turning to you” Brian proceeded, pretty much ignoring his question and smiling jadedly “you would have, you would have noticed that I was looking too.”

Jae blinked blankly at him.

Wait. Wait.

Hang on.

_Hold the fuck up._

_What!?_

Jae was lost for words. He swallowed hard and shifted a little, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

“ _Shit._ ” Jae muttered feeling really dumb and also really warm in the face. Not only had Jimin caught him looking, _Brian_ , the one he was looking at, had also noticed.

(Okay, he wasn’t sneaky _at fucking all._ He was about as sneaky as blind giraffe running down a street colliding with everything in its path.

_A disgrace to the human race.)_

“Now it’s your turn to be honest, Jae.” Brian asked softly and Jae wanted to jump out of the window but it was literally impossible to do that, since it only opened a little on the top part, because apparently, in the past, one kid had actually jumped out of the window when they opened all the way. Clever of them to get rid of those windows. _Very_ clever.

But Jae had no choice but to be honest. He felt his face warm up in embarrassment and clicked his tongue.

“Alright, man, so like…” he started, louder and angrier than he’d intended. Well, screw it though, what _fucking_ ever “so you speak English and, and I was interested because you also speak fluent Korean and I am, I was, like, having trouble with this language, even though I’ve been speaking it since forever” he rambled, gesturing with his hands “I spoke it at home but there’s tons of it I don’t know, you know what I mean?”

“Obviously.” Brian acknowledged “If you were only speaking it at home, you can’t know much.” Jae nodded, happy for the support and the fact that Brian didn’t look disturbed. So he rambled on.

“Thank you.” He gestured emphatically towards him “And also… I mean, you’re talented and, and yeah, like, _shit_ , I just… I don’t fucking know why I didn’t try talking to you, honestly." He paused and shook his head "It’s not like me at all. I mean, the brooding bit is kind of true? But that wasn’t it, I think." He shrugged and looked up at him "I don’t know why _, really_.” He repeated, openly frustrated now, throwing his hands in the air “I can’t keep my mouth shut to save my life and…” he chuckled a little, dropping his hands on the mattress in defeat “years and years of, of being the odd one out taught me that, that if I don’t go talk to people, then they won’t come talk to me.” He ranted before sighing deeply and looking over at Brian who was smiling ( _thank God_ ) “Happy now?”

“The odd one out.” Brian repeated and Jae nodded.

“Yeah, the odd one out.” Jae repeated back with a nod.

“Yes, I’m happy now. Thanks for being honest. I feel flattered.” Brian said, the smile reaching his eyes and making Jae’s heart skip an anxious beat “I guess I’m also at fault, because I, I could have also tried talking to you… but you were rarely alone and I, and I felt like I would be interrupting…”

Jae furrowed his brows before the thought hit him and it somehow made perfect sense, considering Brian’s good manners and all the stuff he’d picked up from his personality during their time together.

“Because you thought Jimin was my girlfriend?”

Brian’s cheeks flushed a little ( _finally,_ it wasn’t just Jae, _thank God_ ) and he smiled apologetically.

“I’ve already apologised for that, but yeah. That’s mostly it.”

Another thought. _Hope._

“So you’re not into her?” Jae asked before being able to stop himself and Brian raised an eyebrow and snorted.

“No? What made you think that?”

Jae had to fight back the grin that threatened to spread itself on his silly face.

_Hope._

“I don’t know, you, uh, you looked upset when she didn’t come to our date.” Jae called it what it bloody felt like now. Screw it.

(Brian had started it anyway. It was late in the night, give a guy with a crush _a damn_ break.)

“Because I thought it is, it was because of the stupid diet thing. I hate it when people, especially girls, think they’re fat when they’re not.” Brian huffed “She’s beautiful and healthy." He shook his head "She doesn’t need any diets.” He frowned and once again he looked legitimately annoyed by that.

“You told her that.” Jae recalled, grinning freely now, and Brian nodded.

“I told her that.” He repeated and smiled “And I meant it.”

“You always mean it.” Jae echoed what Brian had told him when Jae had accused him of giving away fake compliments.

“I always mean it.” Brian repeated with that soft smile “I told you, I never give fake compliments.”

It was silly talk, repeating each other’s lines, it was probably because they were tired but it created a sort of empathy that wouldn’t be created in any other way and Jae almost laughed out loud.

“Man, I’m so sorry I didn’t go talk to you…that was so dumb of me...” Jae finally said with a sigh and Brian shrugged.

“It’s fine, we’re talking now. " He smiled "We’re literally partners in crime now.” He added playfully and Jae cackled.

“True that.” He agreed, pointing at him for emphasis. He paused and sighed “Well, I noticed that you were mostly alone, with the _cool brooding look_ ” he jibed and Brian chuckled. Jae was very glad it was just a joke now “always scribbling away on your notebook when you weren’t being chatted up by girls.”

Brian looked genuinely embarrassed at the last bit.

“You're making it sound like I’m super popular with the girls.” Jae snorted and raised an eyebrow.

“You say that like you’re not.”

Brian groaned before chuckling thoughtfully.

“I’m not used to it and it's really, hm, it's really not something I want.” He shrugged with an airy smile and Jae scoffed.

(How could he not be used to it when he looked like _that_!? He didn’t tell him that but he kind of wanted to.)

“ _Who hurt you_?” Jae asked unable to contain himself, dramatically shaking his head and Brian chortled.

“Many people.” He confessed mildly and the tone made Jae think that he was, once again, being honest despite how vague it sounded “Some stuff sticks with you, you know?”

 _A bad break-up,_ Jae thought and since they were being honest and open, why the hell not?

“Bad break-ups?” He tried with a smile and Brian pursed his lips before returning his smile with a nod.

“Horrible. The worst one was over a text." He started, smacking his lips and looking over at Jae "The next day there was already another person and I was told I was exaggerating.” He summarised and Jae winced. Brian seemed to appreciate the sympathy “Yeah.”

“Not cool, man, holy shit.” Jae shook his head “I’m so sorry. She didn’t deserve you, anyway. What an asshole.” He offered. Brian sighed deeply and shook his head.

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago.” Brian shrugged “I was like 16 or something.”

Jae nodded.

Brian trusted him enough to tell him his break-up story but Jae didn’t have anything that dramatic to share because his break-ups had been mostly chill. He’d only been hit once and he thought that he kind of had it coming.

“Well, once I got hit during a break-up.” Jae snorted “I accidentally told her that her armpits smelled like onions and, and she was so offended, like… _boy_ , you should have seen it.”

Brian blinked before he started laughing so hard he cried.

“Why would you say that!?”

“It was true!” Jae defended, cackling “It was really noticeable and I just couldn’t stop myself from saying it!" He cackled before " _Honesty_ , man. It’s not always good.” He dramatically shook his head.

Brian was still laughing out loud and his laugh suddenly turned to a yawn that he covered with the back of his hand and he fell back on Jae’s bed. Jae yawned too and saw Brian look at his wristwatch.

“What time is it?” Jae asked.

“Quarter to eleven.” Brian told him and Jae winced, lying back as well, thinking about his _not-done_ homework. The sleepy chat with Brian had been so distracting that he’d completely forgotten about it.

“What?”

“The homework I haven’t done yet.” Jae whined shaking his head as he reluctantly sat back up “We were supposed to write a paper on some guitarist, weren’t we?”

Brian hissed before chuckling.

“It was just one thousand words of it.” He said “But yeah, we were.” And he sat back up “I can help you with it, like, proofreading and all that.”

Jae felt his heart skip a grateful beat and he wanted to hug Brian (one hundred percent platonically, mind _you_ ).

“You, you would do that, bro?”

“I wouldn’t have offered, if I wouldn’t.” Brian said with a smile getting up from the bed and walking towards Jae’s desk “Can I use that chair?” He asked pointing at Wonpil’s desk chair.

“Yeah, go for it. I wonder where that little shit is though.” Jae said standing up and walking to his desk, sitting on his chair while Brian pulled Wonpil’s over. Jae opened his laptop and he and Brian sat shoulder to shoulder in front of it. Brian still smelled great even after all that action. Like fabric detergent and his soft yet alluring cologne. Jae debated whether he should tell him that, but decided against it.

“Right, not gonna write about the same as you.”

“I wrote about Jimi Hendrix.” Brian told him and Jae whined. That was his first option.

“Okay, John Lennon then.” Jae decided and Brian grinned.

“ _Imagine all the people_ …” He sung softly and Jae chuckled. It was worth it just to have Brian randomly sing softly in his ear _“living life in peace...”_

“Gotta be all technical and shit, right?” Jae asked and Brian nodded stopping his singing “So we gotta listen to The Beatles and stuff, don’t we?”

“Yep, not too troublesome. I did that too. We should focus on John though." He mused looking at Jae "Maybe find some of his solo songs where he’s playing guitar, like ‘ _Stand by me_ ’ and _‘Woman’_.”

Jae pulled out his earphones from the drawer and of course they were a horrible tangled mess. He’d never known how to store them properly.

“Allow me.” Brian asked reaching his hand and Jae handed them over, he hated to untangle earphones with a passion.

He was seriously shocked when Brian untangled them in less than ten seconds. _Deft fingers_.

(Jae was not thinking things. _He was not.)_

“Impressive.” Jae complimented, plugging them into the laptop and handing one earbud to Brian who grinned.

“Thanks. Next time store them like this.” And he proceeded to unplug them again and roll them around his hand before pulling them out and rolling the earpieces end around the middle. Jae was amazed when he watched him pull the buds and unroll the earphones in one swift motion “See?” Brian grinned.

“ _Witchcraft._ ” Jae whispered taking the earphones from his hands and plugging them again "You're a wizard, Brian."

"I'm a _what_?" Brian grinned and Jae chuckled before focusing on what he had to do.

So they went on Youtube and found The Beatles’ songs, taking some notes of how Lennon played in the band before going for his solo songs. They were trying hard not to jam away with the songs and focus on them instead, but it was hard. Especially when they were that tired.

Brian was always humming and, as much as Jae didn’t mind it, it was kind of distracting. He still had enough info for a thousand words though.

_It would be fine._

“Right, I think I’m ready to write this stuff!” Jae informed Brian who yawned and stretched, rolling away from Jae on the chair to give him some space.

“I’ll wait then.” He said and Jae cracked his knuckles before he started typing while still listening to a John Lennon playlist for inspiration. It took him about an hour to finish writing it and he felt like it was super half-arsed but there was nothing to be done about it.

Brian had been silent the whole time he’d been writing and when Jae looked at him again, he noticed that he’d dozed off. He was sleeping with head on his own shoulder, his arm on the arm of the desk chair. Jae couldn’t help the urge to grab his phone and snap a candid picture before softly waking him up.

_(To remember.)_

“Brian…” he called, softly patting his knee. Brian jolted and opened his eyes, wildly looking around.Jae chuckled.

“I’m awake…” he blearily said with a half-smile before rubbing his eyes and wheeling the chair back towards Jae “You done?”

“Yeah, I’m done. You think you can give it a read, bro?” Jae asked with an apologetic smile.

“I said I would.” Brian smiled through his puffy eyes and yawned “Where is it?”

“Right here.” Jae pointed and Brian rubbed his eyes again before slapping both his cheeks to wake up again.

Jae watched in silence as Brian read and edited his paper. He made an awful lot of edits, Jae noticed with a sigh. It took him over half an hour until he was done.

“I think I’m done.” He said, hitting the save button “It’s pretty good!” He smiled and Jae raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, with all the edits you made, it's definitely a masterpiece.” Brian chuckled at the sarcasm.

“I meant the content.” Brian elaborated “It’s interesting. My edits were just on the syntax. Also the register. You sound too informal.” He chuckled.

“Oh” Jae snorted looking at the file and realising that it was true “right. I write like I speak, I guess you can’t do that in academic essays.” He sighed before smiling at Brian “I can’t thank you enough, man.” He said as he saved the work into a USB stick before sending it to himself through email. Just to be safe.

“No problem. I can do that for all your essays, if you need.” Brian said before yawning again and checking the time at the corner of Jae’s laptop.

It was past one in the morning and they had a _lovely 9am_ the following morning.

“Your roommate still hasn’t returned.” Brian noticed and Jae shrugged.

“I’m not complaining, not gonna lie” he said before yawning “but it is weird. He said he was in the dorm." He frowned a little "Where the hell could he be until so late? He also has a 9am tomorrow.”

“Maybe he’s got _a special friend_ , eh?” Brian grinned and Jae snorted. _‘Eh?’_ “Or maybe he just fell asleep wherever he was?”

“Sounds likely.” Jae acknowledged “Especially if he was with someone. He likes to platonically sleep with people, he told me that.” Brian furrowed his eyebrows and chuckled.

“ _Platonically sleep with people_.” He repeated and it was clear that he was dead tired not only because of his raspy voice but also because he started cackling at that “That would give a great poem.” Jae was also dead tired but he was still somewhat conscious.

_Ah._

“I knew you were into poetry.” He grinned, pointing at him “Knew it!” Brian just laughed at that before he closed his eyes and breathed in. He even brought a dramatic hand to his chest and looked over Jae’s head, seemingly focused despite his sleepy eyes. And he started reciting some verses, in English, that he was clearly coming up with as he went, judging from all the pauses.

 

_“In your arms I sleep entranced_

_Happily, my heart chants_

_With your warmth, I am enchanted_

_But, love, I don’t wanna get in your pants!”_

 

Jae literally fell off his chair laughing out loud. He wasn’t ready for that, not in that dormant state. Brian was also guffawing. It took them a long while to stop laughing.

“Holy shit! You, you just came up with that!?” Jae wheezed and he looked up at Brian who was still bent over, laughing. He looked kind of blurry and Jae realised that he’d lost one of his contacts. _Damn._

Kind of glad it was one of the disposable ones because he wouldn’t be able to find it now.

“I did!” Brian confirmed and he was grinning, his shoulders trembling with laughter, still “How did you, how did you like it?”

“Brilliant, really! You should write it down. I wanna hang it on my notice board!” Jae cackled gesturing towards said board. He saw Brian get one of his pens and a piece of printer paper to write down the poem. Jae took the chance to get off his other contact and reached into his desk’s drawer for his glasses. His _actual glasses_ , the ones that weren’t just for decoration. His hand met with Brian’s when he opened the drawer. Brian handed him his glasses “Oh, thanks.” He snorted taking off his fake glasses and replacing them with his actual glasses with lenses.

“Why do you wear glasses when you have contacts on?” Brian casually asked with a chuckle.

“For style of course. Gotta keep the hipster thing going.” Jae snorted dismissively and stood up looking at the poem Brian had just written on the paper and grinning “I’ll really hang it there. Sign it for me.”

Brian snorted and did as he was told. He also added the date. Jae got a thumbtack from his notice board and hung _the masterpiece_ there.

“ _Art._ ” Jae said nodding approvingly and Brian grinned “Only quality stuff goes on this board.” He patted it for emphasis. There were a couple of pictures of Jae with his family and friends from the US. And now Brian’s silly impromptu poem about platonically sleeping with people.

“It’s an honour to make it to your board, then.” Brian said standing up and stretching languidly “But I think it’s time I go back to my room.” Jae nodded even he kind of didn't want that but, well, _life._

“I’ll go with you" Jae declared airily "wanna know where it is, so that I can find you easily.” He grinned cheekily and Brian chuckled before he walked over to Jae’s bed and bend over to pick up his oxfords.

“Let’s go then.”

Brian didn’t bother putting on his shoes and Jae couldn’t be bothered putting on his either even though the walk would take a bit.

South Wing was quite far from D-floor. It was no wonder that they’d never crossed paths even though they lived in the same dorm.

They kept chatting quietly as they walked over to the South Wing. Most of it didn’t make sense because they were dead tired but it was fun nonetheless.

Brian’s room was SW-10. They stopped in front of the door and Brian brought his ear close to the door to listen for noise.

“Definitely someone inside.” He whispered “I can hear Dowoon’s breathing. He’s not alone though.”

“Oh, your roommate is that drummer kid?” Jae whispered back and Brian nodded as he put the key in the keyhole and pushed the door open. The light from the corridor illuminated the dark room and Brian stepped inside. He was there no longer than three seconds before he stepped back outside with pursed lips and widened eyes. He looked at Jae who gave him a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?” Jae whispered.

“Don’t make any noise.” Brian wheezed as he held the door open to let Jae look inside. It was hard to do what Brian told him though. Jae almost pissed his fucking pants.

Wonpil was in there. Sleeping with Brian’s roommate, Dowoon, both on the same bed, both in their pyjamas _._

Mystery solved.

_Platonically sleeping together._

Brian closed the door and they stood outside the room.

“I don’t believe it.” Jae breathed into his hand “I didn't, I didn't even know they were friends!”

“I did know they were friends.” Brian whispered, covering his mouth, his shoulders trembling “Just not... _this_ much friends. What should we do?” Brian asked still laughing “I feel bad waking them up.”

The solution was obvious.

“Go get your pyjamas and stuff and sleep over in my room.” He told him and Brian nodded. It clearly also made perfect sense to his tired brain. Brian went into his room and Jae heard rustling about and a couple minutes later, Brian appeared with not only his pyjamas but also a change of clothes and his toiletries.

“Back to D, then.” Jae snorted before he thought about it “Actually…” He pulled out his phone and Brian chuckled “Hold the door open…” He snapped his second candid picture that night and looked at it. _Perfect._ “Yeah, now we’re good, let’s go.” And off they went, all the way back to D-floor.

 

* * *

“You wanna platonically sleep together too?” Brian teased as he casually stripped when they were already back in D-14, his back turned to Jae who could admire it as he pleased. In any other occasion, when he wasn’t as tired as he was, he would have probably let his eyes linger more, admired the lean muscles of Brian’s back, remembered the golden colour of his skin, the dimples at the small of his back, his straight shoulders. Not now though. When he took off his glasses he stopped being able to see more than a blur, so it didn’t even matter. Not in that state of mind, not when he was so tired.

Jae didn’t even joke about the teasing.

“We’re probably too big to fit in one of these single beds.” Jae replied with a quiet chuckle as he chucked his sweater onto his easy chair and put on his pyjamas before putting his glasses back on, in time to see Brian, also already in his pyjamas quietly smiling down at him “You take Wonpil’s bed. I won’t let him complain." He told him "Plus, you smell good, so.” He shrugged.

Brian chuckled as he pulled the covers of Wonpil’s bed back and lied down. Jae had already pulled the covers of his own bed over himself and placed his glasses on his bedside table beside his phone.

“I smell good?” Brian asked softly, languidly “Not like onions?”

Jae snorted onto his pillow and he could only see the contours of Brian on Wonpil’s bed. A good change.

“Definitely not like onions.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Brian yawned and Jae saw him turn to the side to look at him.

“You look cute without your glasses, Jae.” He mumbled, a smile clear in his voice.

Jae scoffed and yawned. Brian was hallucinating.

“You’re high, man." He snorted "Go to sleep.”

“You are.” Brian mumbled before yawning again “Good night, Jae.”

“Good night, Brian.” Jae muttered giddily before turning off the lamp. The room became dark save for the faint light coming through the curtains from the outside and it was just so calm. Jae immediately fell asleep. That had been the longest afternoon, plus evening of his entire life.

He felt like he’d lived half of his life in that short time-span. And he’d be damned if he regretted anything he’d done that day.

He wouldn’t change a bloody thing about it.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the only thing I apologise for is the mario reference
> 
> by e


	3. Connection through the great modern classics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae fulfills his dream of being a wingman and his teasing backfires but he's ready for it. The squad is slowly assembling. Jae's hopes get higher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heads up: Yerin appears and there's more wholesome queerness, some GOT7 members appear, Brian is still a sweetheart despite being a lil shit like everyone else, there's some healthy banter once again, more teasing, and plans are made to meet The Legendary One
> 
> There's some texting in this chapter and I hope it's clear enough. Jae's texts are always the ones in bold (I hope i didn't mess that up /sweats)
> 
> I'll confess that this and the next chapter were supposed to be just one thing but it got ridiculous long, so I decided to break it in two so that it wouldn't be too long. I thought it kind of made sense too, so idk pls do tell me things, i enjoy feedback and cry at comments like the nerd i am. i'll reply to them after i post this /weeps
> 
> The next one should be up either tomorrow or Friday, since it just needs a bit of rereading to find the most blatant typos and the sort (which I always somehow miss the most of lol im not high i promise.....)
> 
> Again a chill chapter, just to build things and stuff. There's a pattern though lmfao and I hope u stick around for long enough to see the end of this long, long mess
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one as well /flees

 

* * *

 

Jae didn’t dream at all that night. He just slept for seven hours straight, without ever waking up. No dreams whatsoever. It was a good and well-deserved night of sleep.

He woke up to the scent of fresh, familiar yet unfamiliar, shampoo and perfume.

Right, _Brian._

He smiled onto his pillow. He had a clue on why he hadn’t been _allowed_ to dream that night.

He still felt tired and didn’t quite feel like getting out of bed. His alarm rung not two minutes later and he groaned at it, feeling about his bedside-table for his glasses and his phone to turn off the alarm. When the world stopped being a blur he looked over at Wonpil’s side of the bedroom and saw Brian, with his wet black hair slicked back and exposing the entirety of his gorgeous face, his cheeks slightly pink from the shower, sitting on Wonpil’s easy chair and smiling up at him as he put on his shoes.

(Nobody really bothered with traditional values in those dorms even though people often got rid of their shoes once they walked into someone’s room.)

There was the reason why he hadn’t had any dreams.

“’morning, Brian…you’re up early…” he grumbled hoarsely, in English, looking up at Brian with a sleepy smile “’time is it?”

“’morning." He smiled back "Foreign bed, I usually wake up just on time to, uh, to shower and eat breakfast as I run to the bus.” Brian chuckled as he picked up his wristwatch from the desk where he’d left it the previous night and strapped it to his wrist “It’s quarter past eight.” He told Jae who groaned and turned around, hiding his face on his pillow before sitting up and rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

“Can’t skip, can we?” He grumbled and Brian chuckled before dramatically shaking his head.

“Think about the homework you did.” Brian told him and Jae nodded pointing at him with both fingers.

“Good point. Imma take a shower.” He said as he yawned and stood up walking to his closet for a change of clothes and all the stuff he needed “Then breakfast… _no_ crimes this time.”

Brian chortled heartily.

“Where’s the kitchen?” He asked and Jae yawned again before waving towards the door. He didn’t think much of it at that point, mostly because he was still sleepy. He just kind of assumed that Brian was going to get some of _his_ stuff for breakfast, which would be perfectly acceptable.

“In Jimin’s corridor, like… third door to the right of her room.” He said “My stuff has my name on it... and hopefully no fucker took it yet.” He grunted “Eat whatever you want.”

Brian nodded before smiling gently as he finished tying the laces in his oxfords and stood up from the easy chair, messing his hair and making a couple of strands fall over to his forehead.

“Got any requests?” He asked and Jae looked at him, confused.

Too damn early for riddles. What the hell was he talking about?

“Requests?”

“I’m cooking breakfast.” Brian explained walking past him and already opening the door in front of Jae’s speechless expression which he clearly ignored. Jae suddenly felt rather awake “I’m not an expert, but I can make a mean omelette.”

“Uh…” Jae gaped at him, shaking his head before snorting “Omelette would be, uh, omelette would be perfect, actually. I think I got some eggs and stuff… again, if nobody took my stuff that is.”

Brian winked at him and walked out of the room ahead of Jae before glancing at him with a smile.

(Jae felt that that kind of _blatant attack_ should not be allowed so early in the morning, when a guy hasn’t been up for _five damn minutes_ ).

“Don’t take too long in the shower then.” Brian said to him “It won’t take me longer than half an hour to cook.”

“Yessir.” Jae said (he didn’t know how he managed to joke, honestly) and they left the room. Jae walked to the bathroom and Brian walked past the doors to Jimin’s corridor to find the kitchen.

 

* * *

“’Sup, Jae-hyung.” Someone greeted him in the shower room and he glanced to the side, still feeling mildly disconcerted by the attack he’d just fallen victim of. It was his neighbour from D-12, Jaebum who shared a room with Jinyoung, best known in the dorm as Jr.. JB was in the same group as Wonpil so they hung out sometimes, especially since they were neighbours.

However, no matter what, seeing this boy in the morning before he got ready, bleary-eyed, looking pissed and with his hair sticking out in every direction, never failed to be entertaining to Jae, because he normally looked like he was ready for a fashion show, but before he got ready in the morning, he looked like he’d stared death in the eye and beat it to the ground with his bare hands.

“Sup, JB. Looking good as always.” Jae joked with a chuckle. JB gave him an already familiar look and he snorted.

“Back at you. Fucking 9ams.” He grunted as he got into one of the shower stalls. There were six stalls in total and two of them were already taken.

“We should start a petition to end 9ams.” Jae said with a chuckle as he locked himself into another stall.

“I’m all for that petition!” Someone said from another stall and both Jae and JB laughed “I want to be among the first five to sign it.”

“Good morning, Jr.” Jae greeted cheerily and he greeted back, clearly not as amused as he was.

Jae would literally not believe that Brian was actually cooking him breakfast until he saw it and tasted it.

(And maybe punched himself in the eye just for good measure).

* * *

 

There were some people in the kitchen but nobody was using the stove (they rarely did in the morning) they were all either eating cereal or lining up for the toasters and microwave.

Jimin was sitting at the table eating the leftover cakes from the previous evening with a jug of milk in front of her. When she saw Brian Kang waltz into the kitchen, fresh out of the shower and fully dressed she thought she was seeing things.

Why the hell was he there? Wasn’t he in SW?

“Hey there.” She greeted, in Korean, which made Brian blink at her as if she’d just done something really unexpected.

(They’d spoken in English the night before, but that was still Korea and Korean was still the default, wasn't it?)

“Why are you in D-floor’s kitchen?” She asked and Brian finally seemed to wake up to the world. He smiled.

“Hi, Jimin. I’m, uh, I'm cooking breakfast for me and Jae.” Brian replied as he walked over to the fridge to find Jae’s food. Jimin coughed a little before speaking again. He was _what!?_

“Uh…you can also use the stuff with my name, if Jae’s stuff is missing.” Jimin told him “Me and Jae share our food.”

“Thank you. I just need some eggs and cheese." He told her "I’m making an omelette. You know what he usually drinks in the morning?” Brian asked after getting the ingredients from the fridge.

“Milky coffee." She gaped at him, seeing him look a bit lost "Ah, what you’re looking for is in the cupboard under the sink. Utensils in the second drawer. Mugs up there.” Jimin told him, pointing.

She was lost for words. She wanted to ask so many things but with all those people in the kitchen it was kind of risky (never know when you’ll find an asshole).

“Thanks.” Brian said with a smile and got the pan and a bowl from the cupboard before getting the utensils. Jimin watched in awe as Brian diligently prepared everything to make an omelette. He worked in silence before sliding it into a plate. The kitchen was practically empty by then and Brian could use one of the toasters and the coffee machine to finish making his and Jae’s breakfast.

Jimin needed answers quickly because that was too surreal and she thought she was losing her mind.

 

Jae turned up in the kitchen just as Brian was finishing preparing his coffee after pouring his own.

Jimin looked at Jae, who was also fully dressed and showered, his contacts and his fake glasses already on, waiting for answers but Jae’s eyes barely stayed on her long enough to greet her (he knew she didn't really mind that).

“’morning, Jamie.” He said, in English, and he was looking at Brian and their breakfast in disbelief “Bro…”

“Good timing.” Brian smiled, also switching to English, taking a sip of his coffee with a sandwich made of toast and half of his omelette in his other hand “Breakfast is ready.”

Jae legitimately felt his heart throb at the sight. It felt like he was in some cheesy, _very low-budget_ drama, that had somehow managed to hire the best-looking actor in the market. Maybe it was the contrast, but Brian looked ridiculously handsome in that dull-ass kitchen, with stained countertops, dishes piled up in the sink and the bins filled with rotten rubbish to the brim.

“ _Bro_.” Jae mumbled, all shiny eyes and smiles and slightly trembling hands “You’re _an angel_.”

“It’s nothing” Brian said with a shrug “it’s just a thank you for last night.”

Jimin legitimately choked on her milk this time and Jae looked back at her after picking up his coffee and his own omelette sandwich. He took a bite of the sandwich and widened his eyes.

“This is Heaven, bro." He complimented and Brian smiled with a little wink, nodding " _Shit,_ I feel blessed."

“Told you. I can’t cook much, but my omelettes are great. Your stuff wasn't missing by the way.” Brian shrugged, eating his own sandwich.

“Okay, screw it." Jimin snapped "What the hell, man?” She wiped her mouth after finishing the cakes “What the hell happened last night after you left my room!?”

Jae scoffed and glanced at Brian who was smiling but had gotten slightly red in the face before he looked at him.

 _(Not bad_ , Jae thought, his heart racing as he played it off by taking another bite of his sandwich.

 _Really._ Not even Gordon Ramsay would be able to complain about this omelette. Or maybe Jae was biased.

 _Anyway._ )

“Oh, not much." Jae started, airily "Aside from some healthy conversations and then homework, that is.” Jae tinformed her and she raised a suspicious eyebrow “Now between Wonpil and Brian’s roomie… wouldn’t be so sure.”

Jimin furrowed her eyebrows, momentarily forgetting the fact that Brian had cooked breakfast for him and Jae.

“Brian’s roomie?”

“Yoon Dowoon.” Brian said taking another bite of his sandwich, the lovely flush in his cheeks ebbing off. Jimin recognised the name, clearly.

“What happened between them?”

“We’re not sure…” Brian replied sheepishly, glancing over at Jae “They were…they were sleeping on Dowoon’s bed when we saw them last night…”

Jimin snorted loudly and covered her face with her hands, her shoulders trembling.

“Holy moly” she wheezed.

“They were fully clothed…and it was, uh, cold…” Brian added with a smile “It could be just…”

“ _Platonically sleeping together_.” Jae said and Brian chortled at the inside joke. Jimin laughed as well even though she wasn’t in on all the details of the joke (and the _beautiful_ poem it had inspired).

She checked the time on the microwave and sighed.

“We’re walking to school?” She asked, changing the subject as she put the jug of milk back in the fridge.

Jae shrugged and the fun immediately started dying out.

“Yeah.”

“We better get going then. We have fifteen minutes to be there.”

Jae groaned. He was enjoying staying there in the kitchen having breakfast with Brian and Jimin, just chatting and living the life. But such was the world, he thought wistfully.

“We’re going to become professional musicians, friends.” Jae told them dramatically “We must remain focused.”

“I know that History of Music is kind of boring, Jae.” Brian chuckled “We can do it, though!” He hyped half-heartedly.

Jae groaned as Jimin cackled.

“But we also have Theory in the afternoon, man. This is so _shit._ They put the two worst ones on the same day!” He complained as they walked down the corridor “This has to be on purpose. Just to mess with us. I can hardly keep my eyes open during Theory, man.”

“I’ve noticed.” Brian casually said with a chuckle. Jimin smiled mischievously but she didn’t know about Jae and Brian’s talk the previous night.

She didn’t know that Brian had also been looking.

She had no idea that Jae was so full of hope it almost physically hurt to think about it.

* * *

 

They didn’t see neither Wonpil nor Dowoon on their way to school and Jae wondered if Wonpil had skipped morning class for the sake of staying in bed with Dowoon.

Like, it wasn’t exactly hard to believe that Wonpil wasn’t straight, even though they’d never really addressed the subject.

The thing was that Jae thought he knew Wonpil fairly well from their late night deep insightful conversations (when Wonpil wasn’t being a little snake and sneakily making fun of him). For that reason, Jae had never thought that he would be so bold. He’d always seemed so peaceful (despite being a little snake, mind).

(Well, the subject had never really landed on the sexuality realm, now that he thought about it. But really, sleeping in another guy’s bed when said guy lived in a shared room and they could be caught?

_What a player.)_

Jae didn’t even know that Wonpil was friends with Brian’s roommate and that was kind of frustrating because it was another way Jae could have gotten to befriend Brian sooner.

The teasing would be _merciless_ because of that.

“Hi, again, JB. Have you seen Wonpil anywhere?” Jae asked when he spotted him in the hallway.

“Nope. Why?”

“He didn’t sleep in his bed last night.” Jae told JB who snorted.

“Maybe he found a better bed.” He joked and it was Brian who laughed first before Jae got it and snorted with a very telling nod. JB looked at Brian and raised his hand “Hey, there. Have we met?”

JB and Brian chatted for a bit and Jae wouldn’t lie that he was a bit worried about his sleazy roommate, but when he looked at Jimin he noticed that she was staring at something.

 _Someone,_ actually.

There was a girl nearby and she was swearing under her breath, fighting with the zipper of her jacket and looking visibly frustrated. It had gotten stuck in the middle.

Brian clearly knew her because when he saw her chuck her purse onto the floor and angrily take off her jacket he excused himself and walked over to her with a smile.

“Is everything alright, Yerin?”

Jae noticed Jimin look expectantly in their general direction. Jae raised an eyebrow. He was a new man on that beautiful day. He knew better now.

Did Jimin know the girl? Did she _want_ to know the girl? Jae was inclined to think it was the second option.

“You need help?” Brian asked the girl.

“Yes, please! My zipper is stuck, Brian-oppa!” She complained in an angry whimpering voice. Brian picked up her purse and flung it over his own shoulder over his messenger bag and gestured with his hands for her to give him her jacket. She did and he looked at the zipper before she kept complaining “Thanks for trying to help. I’ve been trying to fix it since I left the dorm, but it won’t...wow…”

Five seconds and Brian had done his magic, Jae noticed with a little pang, the zipper was working again as Brian helpfully demonstrated by pulling it up and down, smiling playfully at her.

The girl blinked up at him in awe.

“It’s not about strength” Brian grinned as he handed her the jacket, which she put on before he handed her purse back to her “you need to hold the fabric back when this happens and then pull gently.” He explained using his own jacket as an example “Like this, see?”

“Thank you, Brian-oppa!” She seemed like she wanted to cry a little “You’re too nice!”

Jae breathed in deeply and decided to give it a go and try to be the wingman Jimin deserved.

“Won’t you introduce us to your friend, Brian?” Jae called, beaming cheekily and Brian looked back returning his smile.

“Oh, sorry. Of course.” He stepped aside to unblock the view and gestured towards her “This is Baek Yerin, my neighbour in the South Wing.”

She looked a tad embarrassed, if the red on her cheeks was anything to go by, as she raised her hand in greeting.

“Hi.”

“Hello, there.” Jae greeted cheerfully “I’m Jae and this is Jimin.”

“Park Jimin.” Jimin said very quickly turning into a blushing mess. Jae had a feeling that his hunch had been spot on and he smiled broadly “Nice to meet you, Baek Yerin...” Jimin greeted back with a smile, tucking her own hair behind her ear.

“Nice to meet you too...” Yerin replied coyly before sighing “I was swearing. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine!” Jimin quickly told her with a smile “Please, anyone would have gotten mad.”

Brian seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened but Jae was sure his hunch was right.

(First attempt as a wingman: _nailed.)_

They had to leave for classes right after but Jae felt greatly pleased with himself and he was dying to tease Jimin about that.

* * *

 

It was shitty to text during classes but Jae couldn’t wait hit Jimin with some good old banter (as payback for the previous day with her teasing him about Brian, he could be very petty sometimes, but it was always in good spirits, mind) and it was alright to chill a bit at the beginning while the tutor summarised the previous lesson.

**«So... Baek Yerin... »**

Jimin replied almost immediately.

 

_«Be quiet, dork »_

_«You were in the same group as Brian the whole time »_

She really was perceptive, Jae thought feeling both impressed and disappointed. The teasing wouldn’t work, clearly, since she was already shooting back before he’d even said anything other than the girl’s name. He tried to try another one of his tactics.

_«I saw her for the first time two weeks ago »_

_«I can be excused! »_

_«You can’t! »_

It felt a lot like she was assuming that he had a crush on Brian, a development he had not (as of _yet_ ) shared with her, and he didn’t like the feeling of being exposed like that very much. Jae felt somewhat called out but he didn’t let it show. He just dropped the teasing and went for his other tactic.

**«I noticed you staring at her like a doofus when Brian walked over »**

**«That’s why I made that scene lol »**

_«Cool »_

_«How did u even notice anyway, you blind bat? »_

**«My third eye was opened yesterday. I’m a new man today. »**

_«Lol get out »_

Jae tried to keep a straight face as he typed the following messages.

**«No need to thank me for being the best wingman on planet earth, it’s alright »**

**«I know im the best friend u’ve ever had »**

**«So glorious and angelic that u have a hard time believing im even real »**

**«A beautiful, pure child of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ »**

**«Thank you for being so good to me, Jae, ur a star»**

**«Oh, you’re welcome, Jimin. Anytime, dearest <3 »**

That was Jae’s well-studied tactic for when his teasing backfired hard – turning himself into the butt of the joke with fake narcissism.

_«Lmao You’re an idiot »_

**« <3 »**

He put his phone back in his pocket and noticed that Brian was glancing at him and almost fell into his old habit of looking away before he remembered that Brian was sitting right beside him, they were friends now, and he didn’t have to look away anymore. Not that he did before, as Brian had told him. Anyway. It was still so unbelievable that when Jae smiled cheekily and Brian smiled back with the tiniest of winks he almost pinched himself.

* * *

 

He spotted Wonpil and Dowoon sitting together at lunch in the cafeteria when they left their Music History class.

“Should we ask them…?” Brian asked uncertainly but Jae and Jimin were already walking over and that was enough answer for Brian.

(Truly similar personalities.)

“So” Jae started, in Korean, in way of greeting, while Jimin and Brian sat on the other free seats around the table “nice night last night, wasn’t it? The lack of _reptiles_ was refreshing.”

Dowoon looked at Brian, the only other person aside from Wonpil he actually knew by name at that table, and he looked utterly confused.

“Good morning, Jae-hyung.” Wonpil looked utterly unfazed. He talked as if he was completely innocent, as if Jae hadn’t just referred to him as a reptile. Brian was surprised to notice that it looked honest.

(Maybe Jae was a bit right about him being a little bit _deceiving.)_

“Oh, sorry, Jae-hyung. I should have said something” he said calmly with a grin as he picked up some food with his chopsticks “I slept over at Dowoonie’s! Have you met?” He looked at Dowoon who shook his head.

“No, we have not.” Jae said, grinning back, looking at Dowoon as well, with exaggerated formality “Park Jaehyung, very nice to meet you! That is Park Jimin.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jimin smiled.

“I’m Yoon Doowoon, nice to meet you too.” Dowoon said back. He clearly didn’t think it was odd behaviour because he didn’t really know Jae. The others knew better though, and Jae didn’t fail himself.

“It was cold last night, wasn’t it? The kind of cold that makes you want _to cuddle,_ right?” Jae asked nonchalantly leaning onto Wonpil, who squinted at him _defiantly_.

Wonpil nodded slowly and Brian saw Dowoon blush up to his ears, now clearly understanding what was going on. Wonpil looked underwhelmed. _Completely cool_.

He felt so sorry for Dowoon that he had to put an end to Jae’s teasing.

“Jae-hyung, please…” He called Jae who quizzically looked at him. Brian gestured Dowoon who was looking down at his plate with his entire face and his ears as red as a tomato. Jae shook his head, looking a bit disheartened, but he stopped.

Jimin shook her head despite her smile.

“Anyway” Jae cleared his throat and huffed “next time say something, you little shit.” He snapped a little.

(It seemed to be kind of unintentional.)

Wonpil looked a bit guilty this time.

“I’m sorry, really.” He said looking at Jae “I kind of forgot...”

“It’s alright. I mean, I’m not really _complaining_. You should do it more often.” He said airily before he focused on his lunch and Wonpil snorted. Brian had pursed his lips and was looking at them, clearly wanting to laugh. The first thing Jae had done when we’d noticed Wonpil’s absence had been text him so it was fairly clear that he cared about the boy, despite how mean he sounded. Brian thought it was kind of cute.

“I’m sorry, hyung. We fell asleep…” Dowoon mumbled in Brian’s general direction, his eyes still lowered as he glanced at him “Where did you sleep?”

Brian smiled reassuringly and patted his back.

“I’m not mad, Dowoonie. You did nothing wrong.” He said and he gestured towards Jae “Over at Jae-hyung’s. I grabbed my stuff and left.”

Dowoon was silent for a moment before pursing his lips and looking at him.

“Did you…?”

“I said you did nothing wrong.” Brian repeated, looking at him in the eyes, and he soothingly squeezed Dowoon’s shoulder who breathed heavily.

“We just slept…” Dowoon mumbled with a sheepish little smile that Brian returned, relieved “Honest.”

“I believe you.” Brian told him and he noticed Wonpil’s big eyes on them.

 

Jae couldn’t really make out everything that Brian and Dowoon were saying but he had an idea. He got _‘just slept’_ and that was what he needed to know.

“ _Honestly,_ taking advantage of a poor innocent guy like Dowoonie for your cuddly needs. _Shame._ ” Jae teased (no, he would not let it go so easily) and Wonpil puffed his cheeks in a cute way.

“I feel lonely sometimes!” He showed him a bit of his tongue and everyone chuckled.

“Let him live, Jae.” Jimin said with a chuckle. She’d been won over with Wonpil’s cutesy attitude, Jae knew she was weak to it “Nothing wrong with cuddling your friends. We’ve done that too. You heard him, he feels lonely.” She said and clearly decided to side with Wonpil after Jae’s failed attempt at teasing her about her _not-crush_ on Yerin “Besides, you’re always complaining about him to his face, so I guess he would feel lonely and rejected sharing a room with you.”

Jae gasped looking at her.

 _The betrayal_. He felt that the attack was completely terrible and undeserved.

“Excuse _you._ I always complain openly, thank you very much.” He defended, pointing at her with his chopsticks, unintentionally aggressive.

“At least he’s honest...” Brian said mildly with a smile. He didn’t really seem to be siding with anybody and that kind of helped mediate the argument.

Jae nodded in his direction gesturing towards him.

“Thank you, Brian. Yes. At least I’m honest.” Jae scoffed before he focused on eating his lunch which deserved much more attention than the Snake Den he was surrounded with. Brian only _half-_ excluded.

Brian chuckled and Dowoon snorted into his food. Jae fell silent as he ate his lunch. _So attacked_.

“My bed is too small though…” Dowoon finally spoke up, looking at Wonpil who covered his teeth with his lips before grinning again.

“It’s big enough.” He said cheekily and Dowoon scrunched his nose in a way that reminded Jae incredibly of Brian.

“But you have your own bed!” Dowoon complained and everyone laughed out loud.

“Which I took yesterday, by the way.” Brian told him with a smile “I made it though.” Wonpil looked at him and smiled back.

“That’s fine, Brian-hyung.” Wonpil said.

“Of course it’s fine!” Jae chimed in dramatically shaking his head “You were sleeping in his room, cuddling his roommate, that’s the least you could do for him!”

Wonpil snorted into his food and Brian and Dowoon started laughing again. Jimin covered her eyes, her shoulders quivering with silent laughter. Jae felt a bit better that he wasn’t the target anymore.

Granted, that was a weird way to start friendships, but if it worked, it was as good as any other. Kevin joined them a little later, excusing himself and prompting another round of introductions. It was alright though, it was necessary to meet new people.

“You guys feel like doing something after classes?” Jae asked when they’d all already finished eating and were just warming up to one another with casual conversations “I mean, something that doesn’t involve too much money being wasted, that is.”

Brian and Jimin snorted and Kevin cackled.

“You should find a job, Jae.” Kevin told him and Jae shook his head, looking at him.

“You think I have the _emotional stability_ to work and study at the same time?” He asked dramatically.

“You barely study though.” Jimin teased and he raised his hand.

“Irrelevant.” He dismissed as the others chortled “I have just enough to get by and like the great modern thinkers, the Plain White T’s, once said…” Brian smiled before he finished his thought for him, leaning over the table which made Jae instantly brace himself to have his cheekiness kicked out of him like it was nothing.

“ _One day I’ll pay the bills with this guitar_ …” He sang softly, quirking the original song into fitting his own tone, and Jimin covered her mouth at the unexpected singing _“we’ll have it good…”_

Jae was ready to die but he took the cue instead and sang the next part.

 _“We’ll have the life we knew we would…my word is go-o-od...”_ he sang in his own style, hitting that vibrato on the ‘good’. When it was clear that he wouldn’t proceed, the others chuckled and clapped a little.

“That was great!” Kevin offered with a grin and Brian and Jae smiled at each other before looking at the rest of the freshly assembled squad “No, really. You didn’t even say anything about the song." He said looking from Jae to Brain "He just knew which one and, and even the part you meant. It took me a moment to remember who on earth were The Plain White T’s.” He chortled and Jimin snorted.

“If you’d said ‘ _Hey there Delilah’_ , it’d been obvious though.” She stated and Kevin nodded.

“You don’t get it, man.” Jae shook his head dramatically over their heads as if he was seeing something nobody else was seeing “Me and Brian, we have this connection through the great modern classics…” Brian was already laughing “you wouldn’t comprehend.”

The bell rang signalling the end of lunch break and the start of classes and interrupted their banter. The sound of chairs being dragged across the tiles of the cafeteria was deafening and Jae sighed as they all stood up.

“Anyway, I worked the entire damn time while I was studying in the US.” He told them as they walked over to the tray delivery “I have just enough to get by. I just can’t be too wild, you know what I mean?”

“Fair enough.” Kevin offered with a snort “But you’re always complaining.”

Jae sighed.

“Look, it’s either that or yelling. Complaining is like my coping mechanism, man.” He said dramatically and the others snorted.

(They didn’t seem to realise that Jae was only half-joking.)

“We could go to the square in front of the shopping centre.” Wonpil suggested when they were already out in the corridor about to break ways. Even though they were all taking pretty much the same degree, he and Dowoon were in a different group from Jae and Brian. Jimin was in an entirely different group and so was Kevin. It was the necessity to part ways so immediately that made the decision on what they would do so pressing.

“Oh, the one where Park Sungjin usually busks at?” Jimin chimed in excitedly but her excitement turned into amusement when she looked at Brian and Jae “You could introduce us!”

Wonpil looked at Jae with an unreadable look that somehow made Jae feel that if he was Superman, he would have pierced two holes in his head with his laser eyes. Creepy as hell. Jae just casually ignored it.

“You know Park Sungjin?” Dowoon asked in awe, looking over at Wonpil who was still very much glaring at Jae with his huge, innocent-looking eyes. Jae nodded airily as he exchanged a look with Brian.

“ _We_ do, actually, yes. We’re rather close to him.” He confirmed before he smiled a little as he glanced over at Brian who looked very apologetic and had pursed his lips.

_Not good._

“I have to, I have to go give some guitar lessons to a couple kids after classes end, though.” Brian said. Jae hissed, remembering about what Brian had told him the previous day as he pulled out his credit card like some filthy rich kid and offered to pay for those expensive cakes.

 _Ah, right,_ the lessons.

“Right” Dowoon acknowledged with a sigh “I forgot about that too.” Brian nodded and Jae groaned. He had gotten his hopes up for nothing but Brian still seemed to be musing about it.

_Hope still lived._

“It’s from half past five to seven and, uh, and it’s close to the centre.” He informed with a smile “How long are you planning to stay there?”

“Park Sungjin-ssi is usually only there after seven.” Wonpil remembered with a smile, looking around and Dowoon nodded.

“Ah, right.” Jimin sighed “Well, until eight tops for me. I don’t want to sleep too late" She said, clicking her tongue "And I still want to eat and practice piano for at least one hour.”

“I also need to practice piano.” Wonpil pursed his lips and nodded. Jae scoffed at him.

“Get out, you don’t need to practice _shit_. You’re already good enough. You’re also free tonight.” Jae dismissed and Wonpil huffed but it was clear that he felt just a little flattered “Next.” He turned to Dowoon.

“I want to practice too…” Dowoon shrugged and Jae shook his head.

“You’re wrong. You don’t know what you want. You’re also free tonight.” He dismissed and turned to Kevin as Dowoon snorted.

“I’m free.” Kevin said with a shrug “I’ve been trying to get as much stuff done as I can before the next couple weeks.”

“Alright, Kevin-hyung, everyone knows you’re a diligent student." Jae started "We all hate you for it. Good thing you’re free.” He dismissed with a wave of his hand as Kevin chuckled. Jae focused his attention back on Jimin “And you were practicing for ages on Monday, I had to drag you out of that room, so you can hang out tonight as well. Think about Park Sungjin-ssi. You like Park Sungjin-ssi, don’t you?” He smiled and nobody would take it away from him; he knew how to be persuasive when he wanted to.

“Alright, I’m free.” She rolled her eyes with a small smile “I do like Park Sungjin-ssi.”

“Perfect. I’m glad we’re all free.” Jae threw both his thumbs up and looked back at Brian who was clearly happy that Jae was trying so hard to include him in their plans.

(He clearly didn’t realise that Jae was _literally_ building their plans around him.

Jae was such a good actor.)

“So, we’ll be hanging out at the centre. You have my number. Text me when you’re done with those, uh, the lessons thing and we’ll all meet up for some quality time together.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks and sorry for the trouble, Jae-hyung.” He grinned and he almost bowed his head a little, Jae noticed, but he stopped himself on time.

“No problem, bro.” Jae grinned back, patting his shoulder.

Jae was really looking forward for that evening, hoping dearly that Park Sungjin would really be there.

(Really, if curiosity could kill, he would be on the floor by then.)

* * *

 

Music Theory was by far Jae’s least favourite subject, and he wouldn’t lie, he mostly stared blankly at the lecturer for an hour and a half pretending to be paying attention.

Sitting with Brian made it a bit better but it didn’t solve the problem. Mostly because Brian was polite and didn’t chat during classes.

Still, Jae noticed him scribbling away on a blue notebook that he’d seen him writing on before.

Anyone who didn’t know, would think he was a very diligent student taking notes but the blank space he was leaving on the side of the page, writing no more than a couple words on each line, led Jae into thinking that he was either writing song lyrics or a poem. More inclined to the poem because songs usually had more than two or three words on each line.

He couldn’t read what he was writing though and he didn’t want to (like, okay, maybe he did, just _a little,_ but he wouldn’t do that, because it was _rude_ ) so his eyes didn’t linger.

He took a couple of half-arsed notes just to pretend he was interested.

That subject didn’t have exams anyway, they just had to write a couple essays on God knows what, so he didn’t even know if they were meant to pay attention or not.

What should they even focus on?

Only when Brian finally put his notebook away in his bag and grabbed the printer paper, where he apparently took his notes, did Jae try talking to him, to kill his boredom. He didn’t speak though.

It’d been a while since he’d done that, it was such a grade school thing, but he scribbled on the corner of Brian’s sheet of paper with his mechanical pencil. In Korean. Brian squinted at the words written in Jae’s poor handwriting and gave him a small smile.

**«This stuff is so pointless. What are we even supposed to focus on? »**

_«I guess his ideas, mostly. What he agrees with. So that we pick a theme that he likes.»_

**«So if we pretend we agree with what he says, we’re good? »**

_«I hope. That’s what I’m counting on. Praying, really. »_

Jae had to stifle his laughter and the tutor gave him a dirty look. Brian looked perfectly innocent.

“Sorry, sir.” Jae mumbled and the tutor nodded before proceeding with his class. Jae couldn’t wipe the smile off his face though and he admired Brian, _always smiling Brian_ , for being able to pull a cool front after writing that stuff down. He also noticed that he actually did take proper notes and Jae would be _that person_ and ask to borrow his notes when he felt that he was screwed when the Hard Times came the following week.

**«I’ll shamelessly ask to borrow your notes, sorry not sorry »**

Brian glanced at him with a small smile.

_«No problem. I’m not sure if they’re any good though... »_

Brian was _that person_ as well. Jae had seen his grades the first semester. He was a great student. He was just either humble or fishing for reassurance.

**«I saw your grades. I’m willing to risk getting an A too »**

Brian snorted softly and pursed his lips before he wrote down.

_«Thanks. I like to hear that after almost dying to get decent grades lol »_

Jae saw his half apologetic, half amused look and had to pretend to be thinking deep thoughts about Music Theory, breathing in heavily and closing his eyes with his lips tightly pressed together not to laugh out loud.

Brian was just too honest and Jae couldn’t handle it (he was already a goner, to be very honest).

 **«I wanna try playing with Sungjin-ssi later. What do you think? »** Jae wrote down after he managed to pull himself together. Brian smiled over at him before writing his reply.

_«I was thinking about that earlier when we talked about going to the centre »_

Jae sighed softly with a smile (so far gone, he didn’t even know where he was anymore).

**«The connection is real, bro »**

_«I’m glad it is »_ Brian wrote down and his eyes met with Jae’s this time and Jae smiled back, casually, but his heart raced dumbly.

(When had he let that happened? He could _not_ remember giving Brian Kang permission to take him away like that.

 _Syke._ Just kidding. Brian had full permission to take him wherever he damn well pleased. And Jae knew very well that it could only end one of two ways but he was kind of willing to take the risk.)

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of sorry for the plain white t's references (probably not as much as i should be)
> 
> by e


	4. Busking with the Legendary One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The promise of a next time stuck deep in their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so, as you can see this part is still ridiculously long even though I literally sliced the last chapter in half to make it slightly less ridiculously long lmao (is it even go o d ? ?)
> 
> Well, there's that, the squad bonds intensely over good music and the Legend finally appears in all his glory. There's the usual typos and mistakes and the sort because when I edit I keep adding and taking off stuff and that is the reason why the chapters get so long and there may be some shit that seems off (i've fixed it lmao) sorry about that
> 
> Thank you so damn much to everyone who's been commenting and supporting this fic (you're enabling me and i cant stop crying dsfkhdsjgf i'll reply right after i post this, because that's what i do lmao)
> 
> I hope you also like this one /sweats loudly

* * *

 

“We could have…” Wonpil started at the end of the day when they were all _walking_ to the centre. Jae cut him off theatrically.

“We could have _not._ ” He countered, pulling his guitar bag better over his shoulder “It’s a beautiful afternoon and exercising is good for the body, you lazy little shit. It’s not even that far.”

Jae had met with everyone in front of the school after Brian left for his private guitar lessons and somehow managed to talk everyone into walking to the city centre because he didn’t want to waste money on the bus.

They did go of their own free will, but it was clear as daylight that they weren’t too happy about it.

“You stingy idiot.” Jimin glared at him “It wouldn’t be too expensive to take the damn bus. Isn’t that guitar heavy?”

“No? I like the weight of my guitar on my back.” Jae shrugged and that wasn’t even a joke “Let’s just appreciate each other’s company.”

There was a bit of chortling but it was weak because nobody really felt like walking five kilometres to the city centre. _Ten_ , if they counted the walk back. But again, Jae could be very persuasive when he wanted to.

“This is quality bonding time, _Pili_.” Jae declared, flinging an arm around Wonpil’s shoulders, which was an easy task considering their height difference. Wonpil was clearly caught by surprise and Jimin laughed.

“Bonding over blisters. _Lovely_.” She commented sarcastically and this time everyone actually laughed. Jae breathed in and nodded.

“Let me be your common enemy then. I’ll take one for this team.” He declared stoically and felt Wonpil snort under his arm and glance up at him.

“Have you been friends with Brian-hyung for long, Jae-hyung?” Wonpil asked casually, not getting away from him. Dowoon and Kevin looked over at them, clearly curious as Jimin grinned knowingly.

“A bit.” Jae replied offhandedly.

 _(What?_ It was _technically_ not a lie. ‘ _A bit’_ could be any amount of time from 24 hours to 24 years, it was only a matter of perspective.

If Jimin said anything compromising, after _all_ he’d done for her as her wingman that morning, he would _disown_ her).

Wonpil didn’t seem to think much of it.

“He’s in your group, isn’t he?” Wonpil asked “Dowoonie told me.”

Jae glanced at Jimin who clearly wanted to laugh and had to exert a lot of self control not to tell him that _yes_ , and he was a damn chicken for not talking to him sooner and _yes,_ he’d talked with Brian about that because he was _an adult_ , _thank you very much._

“Yeah, we’re in the same group. I didn’t know you and his roommate were buddies.” Jae finally looked at his own roommate who was still looking up at him and shrugged casually.

“You never asked.” Wonpil said and Jae pursed his lips in disbelief. Sometimes he felt like guy’s brain worked in a way that was way beyond his decrypting abilities.

“How does that, how does that even make sense? If I didn’t know you were friends, how could I ask about it? You’re giving me a headache.” Jae shook his head and looked away as Wonpil snorted.

“Brian-hyung has talked about you.” Dowoon joined their talk “But I didn’t know you were friends.” He casually said and Kevin was listening but he was more interested in watching Jimin’s reactions that gave away much more information than Jae’s. He asked nothing though, just observing and listening with a quizzical little smile “When he mentioned you, it was always, like... I don’t know, like someone he knew. Does that make sense?”

Jae died a little inside but outside he was still very much alive and glowing under the afternoon sun.

(Such a good actor, he was.)

Jimin snorted loudly.

“Sorry.” She cleared her throat, snorting again while pressing one of her nostrils and scrunching her nose “Something got in my nose.”

Jae forgave her for trying to play it off (okay, she wouldn’t have to be disowned). He didn’t blame her for finding it funny, honestly, since he’d find it funny as well (if he wasn’t being targeted, that is).

“Well” Jae said offhandedly “I am indeed someone he knows, aren’t I?” He chuckled and his act was _thankfully_ on point.

“I guess.” Dowoon chuckled and that was the end of that round ( _hell yes_ , points for Jae).

Kevin was still eyeing Jimin who had pulled a very fake innocent look clearly still high suspicious. He didn’t have to rake his memories too much to realise that Brian had never joined his, Jae, and Jimin’s gaming nights. Even Wonpil and the two guys from D-12 had joined on occasion, but Brian? Not even once.

“Brian never joined our gaming nights.” Kevin commented and he saw how Jae faltered visibly. It looked he’d just poked his finger through the invisible crack in his flawless act.

“Well, he isn’t here right now, is he?” It was Jimin who replied, which surprised not only Jae but also Kevin “He gives private guitar lessons to kids. He’s not always available to hang out.” She told him with a dismissive wave of her hand. It worked like a magnificent charm and Jae almost shed a couple tears.

( _Jimin, you beautiful girl, such a good friend, you’ll inherit Mary when I die_.

He made a mental note to buy her something nice when he got the chance (or the _change._ )

Kevin hummed, clearly accepting that reason and so did Wonpil.  Jae exchanged a quick look with Jimin hoping that it would express just a bit of how grateful he felt. She just nodded the tiniest bit before casually looking away with a smile.

“Yeah, sometimes hyung gets home really late. When the place he has to teach at is far away.” Dowoon added and that seemed to ring the bell signalling the end of the second round (from which Jae had emerged victorious.

 _Thank God_.)

The conversation was much easier for Jae from then on and, with casual chatting and banter, five kilometres really didn’t feel like much. When they noticed they’d arrived at the busy square in front of the shopping centre. Sungjin was only supposed to arrive at around seven or so.

They just had to kill the time by doing something else.

“Well, we’re open for suggestions” Jae said to nobody in particular as he took the initiative to sit down on a bench in front of a flower patch in the middle of the square. They all followed his example. The weather was nice and sunny, but it was a bit cold. There were loads of people walking about, since it was rush hour, but nobody lingered for too long. It was just the five music students and a couple of younger kids sitting there.

_(Like nerds.)_

“There’s not much we can do” Wonpil said with a shrug, pursing his lips “if we can’t spend money.” The others nodded, glancing (more like _glaring_ ) at Jae.

“See, this is why this society is the way it is!” Jae started, slapping his own thigh and pointing at his roommate. Jimin rolled her eyes “Everyone thinks they can only be happy when they’re paying for it. That is just not true. You don’t become happier when you’re loaded. You have just been _conditioned_ to think so! You don’t get to buy happiness!”

“I didn’t say that!” Wonpil protested clearly not used to Jae’s half-arsed socialist agenda.

Jae pointed his own heart dramatically.

“But in your heart, that’s what you believe. You’re not even aware of it, it’s just hard-wired into your brain!” He pointed his own head.

“What can we do then?” Wonpil countered looking mildly upset. Jae shook his head with a heavy sight.

“Well, I also don’t know. We’re all, we are all in this together. We need to think out of the box, man, out of the box!” He gestured with his hands before shaking his head “We’re playing right into their game!”

“Alright, Mr Woke, we get it, you’re broke.” Kevin snorted with a yawn, speaking in English. Jae almost broke his act at the apparently unintentional rhyme.

Jimin translated it for Wonpil and Dowoon who laughed along with her.

“You’re in too deep.” Jae sighed and leaned back, regretting it when he felt his guitar tip into the bushes behind them and he almost fell in with it. He looked back as if he’s just been personally offended, as the others laughed at his silly surprise but he wasn’t fazed by it because he’d just had a _grand_ idea.

He pulled the bag with the guitar from his back before opening it and pulling it out.

“Maybe I can make money enough to waste on Starbucks.” He said airily. Wonpil chuckled at the joke and Kevin snorted before yawning again.

“Is that why you brought your guitar along?” He asked with a grin as Jae dropped the open guitar bag on the floor “For Starbucks?”

“Caramel Macchiato is my _raison d’être_. Let me be.” Jae said dramatically and they all chortled at the pretentious formulation (newsflash: it hadn’t been because of that) “I’m going to borrow your rhyme.”

Kevin raised his eyebrow clearly not know what he meant.

“Okay?”

“You can thank me later.” Jae said before he checked the strings of his guitar before he pulled out his phone and looked up something.

“What are you doing?” Jimin asked, watching him copy and paste something to that one crappy notes app, but he shushed her and focused on the phone, his lips moving silently as he typed something down and mused about it.

“He’s up to something.” Wonpil said suspiciously and Jae shushed him too. Jimin didn’t know what he was up to, but she could already feel that it would be worth replaying. He was hiding the phone from her sight but she could tell it was lyrics he was editing.

She got her phone out of her bag and opened the camera app.

“As of now, we don’t know what Jae-oppa is plotting, but we can sense the danger.” She said to the camera when it started filming Jae “I bet on a joke cover of some song.”  Jae looked at the camera.

“How _dare_ you? I’m always _very_ serious.” He said gravely and she snorted “Give me like ten minutes and you’ll witness something that will blow your mind!”

Jimin paused the camera. It took him about that time to be done with what he was doing.

It would be _magnificent_. 

He cleared his throat after propping his phone on his thigh and got ready to play.

“He’s ready now” Jimin said behind the camera when she un-paused it “look at him. I’m sca-a-ared!” She joked and the others chuckled behind her.

His furrowed eyebrows gave him away. He _did look_ serious, but even the flowers behind them could tell that he was up to something silly.

“Oh God...” Jimin almost cried when he finally started playing and she realised what it was. Kevin covered his eyes looking down and shaking his head.

“Isn’t this the song from that American film with the undercover policemen?” Wonpil asked which only made it worse for the others. Dowoon gasped and nodded.

“Yes, Latrell!” He exclaimed and Jae grinned.

_Yes._

It was indeed a cover of the great modern classic by Vanessa Carlton,  _A Thousand Miles._

For like ten seconds, Jimin thought she’d been wrong about it being a joke cover because he was singing the actual lyrics.

_“Making my way downtown_

_Walking fast_

_Faces pass_

He paused dramatically before he played the following chord, looking at his friends with a dramatic look.

 **_And I’m broke, man_ ** _”_

The recording would look shaky as all hell, featuring the floor on the moment Jimin bent over laughing. Kevin’s shoulders started shaking before he looked up at his friend with actual tears in his eyes.

“I k-knew it!” Jimin exclaimed but Jae ignored her, focusing on his heartfelt song.

 

_“Staring blankly ahead_

_Just making my way_

_Making a way_

_Through the **ha-a-ard times** ”_

“It feels different. Is that how the song really is?” Wonpil asked with a raised eyebrow, not sure if he should laugh or not because as far as he knew, Jae was singing perfectly.

“Of course not!” Jimin wheezed but couldn’t really say much more because Jae made it worse for everyone “Oh God, no, Jae don’t d-do it!”

But _of course_ he did it.

He shook his head like Latrell in the film _“White Chicks”,_ dramatically looking at them.

_“And I need **it** ”_

“It really was that song!”Dowoon cackled looking at Wonpil who was losing it silently. Kevin was wheezing.

_“And I miss **it** ”_

Jimin’s entire face was red from silent laughter as she tried to keep her hands steady and failed miserably.

_“And now I wonde-e-er_

 

_If I **could have a bit more ca-a-sh**_

_Do you think **I would be this bra-a-sh?**_

_Cuz **I would not be woke, I swe-e-ear**_

_If I **was not... so damn... broke”**_

He glanced at Kevin with a cheeky smirk and he finally understood what he meant when he’d asked to borrow _his_ rhyme. He had to cover his mouth and lean over to hide his face because there were some three people watching the performance and some had already thrown money into Jae’s guitar bag. They had to stifle their laughter, otherwise people would be suspicious, but it was hard, especially with how serious Jae looked singing that _bullshit._

_“It’s always in times like these_

_When I think of **this**_

_And I wonder if **I’ll ever not be po-o-or**_

_Cuz everything’s so wrong_

_And I don’t belong_

_Living in **the merciless breadli-i-ine”**_

He hit his unique vibrato on ‘ _breadline_ ’ and the spectators clearly didn’t understand English because everyone cheered. Kevin looked like he was going to pass out from the effort he was making not to laugh out loud. Wonpil and Dowoon didn’t get why it was funny because they didn’t know what the _‘breadline’_ was and Jae had sang that bit beautifully.

****

_“Cuz I need **it”**_

Head shake.

_“And I miss **it”**_

Again.

_“And now I wo-o-onder”_

_If I **could have a bit more cash**_

_Do you think **I would be this brash?**_

_Cuz **I would not be woke, I swear**_

_If I **was not... so damn... broke”**_

 

_And I, I don’t wanna **starve, you know**_

_I, I **wanna eat some lobster**_

_I, I don’t wanna **die, you know**_

_I, I don’t_

 

_“Making my way downtown_

_Walking fast_

_Faces pass_

**_And I’m broke, man_ ** _”_

 

_“Staring blankly ahead_

_Just making my way_

_Making a way_

_Through the **ha-a-ard times** ”_

_“And I still need **it**_

_And I still miss **it**_

_And now I wonder”_

 

_“If I **could have a bit more cash**_

_Do you think **I would be this brash?**_

_Cuz **I would not be woke, I swear**_

_If I **was not... so damn... o-o-oh”**_

He hit the finale hard, looking like he was singing the most serious song of his entire career.

_“If I **could have a bit more cash**_

_Do you think **I would be this brash?**_

_Cuz **I would not be woke, I swear**_

_If I **just had...**_

**_I could just not b-e-ee so damn bro-o-oke”_ **

 

He heatedly played it to the end before he dramatically struck the final chord and closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

His small public cheered and clapped and Jae opened his eyes, bowing his head with a cheeky grin on his face. There was a _well-deserved_ amount of money in the bag by then and despite some people leaving after he finished that _(respectfully improved)_ cover of _A Thousand Miles_ , some still lingered, clearly waiting for more.

“I can’t, I can't believe nobody noticed.” Kevin breathed heavily, looking up at the sky to catch his breath “I thought I would die!”

Jimin couldn’t even speak as she’d doubled over laughing, the camera was just filming the floor at that moment.

“Thank you, thank you.” Jae bowed to the people watching, who threw some change into his bag “I think I can sing another one.” He smiled at his small public who cheered “That’s not enough for Starbucks.” He muttered in English as he looked over at his friends feeling extremely rewarded by how clearly amused they all were. Jimin pointed the camera back at him and he beamed at it.

“Now, we’ll see the real deal!” She exclaimed.

“Any requests?” Jae asked.

“‘ _This Love’_ by Maroon5!” Wonpil quickly raised his hand, grinning back “I like to hear you sing that one.” He confessed with a smile.

“Your wishes are orders, friend.” Jae gave him a thumbs-up. He personally liked to play that one as well “You can all join me in the singing, if you want.” He said.

“I can’t really sing though...” Dowoon muttered with a chuckle and Jae looked at him. He was definitely a bass, with that deep low voice.

“Sure you can!” Jae dismissed with his hand and Dowoon and shook his head.

“Really can’t.” He insisted “I still have poor voice control.”

“He’s getting there.” Wonpil said with a smile in Dowoon’s direction. Dowoon blushed a little and smiled back before shrugging. Jae was having a hard time believing it but he accepted it anyway. He wasn’t in their group, so he couldn’t know.

“I’m trying my best. Brian-hyung is always telling me not to give up.” Dowoon said with a shrug. Jae’s eyes lit up just for the fraction of a second at the mention of Brian’s name. He cleared his throat and shrugged.

“Alright, like I said, only if you want to.”

This time it was passionate musician Jae performing and not playful musician Jae. The difference was jarring. It looked like he’d metamorphosed into somebody entirely different.

 _“I was so high...”_ He started bobbing his head to the rhythm as he went _“I was so high I did not recognise the fire burning in her eyes, the chaos that controlled my mind...”_

Dowoon, who’d never seen him perform for real before, looked like he was seeing a cryptid. But he was right to feel like he was in the presence of the Yeti, because Jae’s posture changed completely when he was performing for real. His features softened and he looked relaxed and happy, yet focused and intense (and he wasn’t even aware of how much of an impact that caused).

“There it is.” Jimin mumbled with a grin behind the camera.

His friends joined him at the chorus, mostly just humming along. The profit was way better than expected, Jae noticed when he struck the last chord and looked at the bag. He seemed to go back to _normal_ when he glanced at his friends with an impressed look.

“Not bad.” Jimin grinned, turning off the camera as Jae scooped the money into his hands and stuffed it in his cardigan’s pocket after the lingering public dispersed, seeing that Jae wouldn’t keep playing.

“Ah, and you got a text. _Two_ , actually.” Jimin told him, pointing his phone, which he’d put between himself and her before he started singing the second song. He had a feeling it would be Brian, even though it was still hardly half past six, and he was right.

The text came after a picture. It was picture with Brian beaming brightly in the centre with four kids with guitars sitting around him. There was a guy Jae didn’t recognise immediately standing behind them, smiling awkwardly.

_«Jae, I’m losing it! Remember the waiter from last night!? He’s one my student’s brother lmao »_

Jae felt his heart drop to his stomach when he realised that the man standing not two steps away from Brian in that picture was indeed the waiter from the previous night.

He felt all the blood drain from his face. If he hadn’t put the strap of the guitar around his torso he’d have dropped it.

“What happened?” Jimin asked, somewhat worried. It was rare for Jae to look so distressed.

“Brian found _the_ waiter.” Jae told her, still in English, and she gasped “And took a fucking selfie with him!”

“What?” Jimin almost choked with the shock “He did _what_?”

**«Holy shit, man. Did he recgnise u?? »**

_«Of course not. I literally can’t stop laughing, I had to say I needed a break »_

“ _How?_ ” Jae muttered in disbelief. He would 10/10 have shat his pants, if it had been him meeting the damn waiter. He looked at his friends in silence, his heart beating hard against his ribs, before he covered his mouth and lowered his eyes.

(That wasn’t even drama material. They usually dragged the plot for 30 episodes before killing off one of the main characters.

This was _bullshit.)_

“What’s wrong?” Dowoon asked.

“Your roommate is _insane_.” Jae couldn’t stop the words coming out his mouth as he uncovered it and replied. Dowoon looked as confused as before as he exchanged a look with Wonpil who shrugged.

**«Dude, get out of there asap »**

_«Can’t. Still one more hour. I want the money »_

“He’s out of his fucking mind!” Jae almost cried out in despair but he managed to keep up a cool front.

( _Plot twist:_ it wouldn’t be Brian dying in the drama, it would be him.)

“What’s happening, man?” Kevin asked and Jae just looked at him with a blank look on his face before looking back to his phone. Kevin gave up and looked at Jimin who clearly also knew what was happening “What’s up with Brian?”

“It’s a long story.” She snorted, worriedly eyeing Jae.

“Summarise?” Kevin requested expectantly.

“Just tell them.” Jae said with a dismissive wave of his hand, looking at his phone.

So Jimin quickly summarised Jae and Brian’s little escapade the previous night (leaving out the fact that they’d started talking that day and all _the irrelevant stuff_ , thankfully). Wonpil covered his mouth in shock and Dowoon gasped almost falling into the flowers. Kevin snorted widening his eyes.

“Holy shit!” Kevin chortled “You guys are nuts!”

“He’s the crazy one!” Jae scoffed, shaking his head. “He won’t get out of there, says, he says he wants the money.”

“’ _I would not be woke, I swe-e-ear’_ …” Kevin sung playfully and everyone laughed but Jae, who couldn’t even appreciate the fact that he remembered his well-thought-out lyrics. His chest hurt with how hard his heart was beating against his ribs.

**«The money isnt worth it, bro, please get the hell out of there! »**

_«It’s chill. If he’d recognised me, he’d have said something »_

“He’s right, though.” Jimin tried with a shrug (Jae was letting her read the texts) “He would have said something, if he’d recognised him. He wouldn’t let his sister be taught be a criminal.”

The others chortled, clearly making out the meaning of what she was trying to say and why Jae seemed so distressed. Jae breathed heavily looking at the sky.

“If he ends up in jail, I’ll turn myself in too.” He declared dramatically.

“Oh no, don’t tell him that for the love of God, you’re such a drama queen!” Jimin chuckled when she saw Jae type it down.

“Let me be dramatic!” Jae complained.

**«If you end up in jail i’ll turn myself in. I wont let u pay for our crimes alone, you lunatic! »**

_«lmao I would deny everything and pretend I didn’t know you if you did that »_

“He’s so sweet, I want to cry-y-y...” Jimin groaned but Jae was failing to see how being a reckless idiot could be sweet. Jae was starting to see double with how hard his heart was beating and his hands felt numb.

“He thinks I’m joking!” Jae complained, dramatically gesturing towards his phone and looking at his laughing friends “You all don’t, you don't understand the seriousness of this whole situation, Jesus. I’m the only sane person here!”

“ _The end is nigh.”_ Kevin cackled, tilting his head back “When Jae says he’s sane we know doomsday is just around the corner.”

 _“Funny.”_ Jae sneered.

“You should have thought about it before you became a criminal...” Wonpil said gravely and Jae glared at him before typing another message. He didn’t need to be guilt-tripped.

(He knew _damn well_ that what they’d done was wrong but certain feelings made you do really stupid shit.)

**«Where u to »**

_«The big park near the river lol it’s cold in here »_

Jae breathed heavily. Okay, that was close enough. Not that he could do much if something did happen but it was somehow reassuring to know he was close.

**«ur insane, man »**

_«I know lol »_

“He says he knows he’s insane.” Jae said in defeat, dramatically looking up at the sky again “Why are all my friends weirdos, _God_?”

“Maybe because you’re one yourself.” Jimin said wisely with a nod and Jae sighed deeply.

 _(Maybe_ she was right.)

“Fair enough.” He shrugged “Well, let’s get in the shopping centre." He said "It’s getting chilly out here and now I have money.”

“You’re not _Brokeman_ anymore.” Wonpil grinned and the way he said it, English mixed with Korean, made it sound like _Brokeman_ was the name of a really unfortunate superhero.

Jae snorted loudly before he nodded gravely.

“ _Brokeman._ That’ll be my superhero alias from now on.”

“Oh my God, get out!” Jimin guffawed, hitting his arm which made him and the other boys laugh.

“Finally a good idea!” Kevin said as he stood up with the others “Let’s go in, _Brokeman_.”

Jae somehow managed to keep his act together and looked about as chilled out as one could look with their heart drumming hard against their ribs and almost physically passing out from stress. He grabbed the guitar bag and put his guitar back in it before putting it on his back and standing up.

* * *

 

The glaring advertising helped calm Jae down a little (it was some sort of capitalist sorcery nobody could quite comprehend).

They walked about for a while, in and out of stores telling the employees they were _just browsing_ like the average student, and somehow Jae found his inner peace again amidst all those things he couldn’t buy.

They ended up chilling at Starbucks, since Caramel Macchiato was _apparently_ Jae’s _raison d’être_ , and he paid for his and Jimin’s coffee and cake without providing much explanation as to why he was suddenly being so generous.

Jimin didn’t need him to say anything because she knew the reason why she was being treated to overpriced coffee and treats. She just smiled at him when he casually offered to pay for her.

“You should think about busking as a part-time.” Kevin suggested after a while as they drank their coffee “Since it’s something you like doing and it also counts as practice. No downsides.”

Jae hummed into his coffee before shrugging.

“I’ll think about it.”

By then he had mostly forgotten that he had a crush on a guy who would eventually give him a heart attack and it was about time said guy was done with his lessons and finally joined them at the square.

* * *

 

“What the hell is happening?” Kevin asked as they reached the bottom of the escalator and noticed the commotion in front of H&M.

There was a brawl going on and some people were screaming for help. Others were just watching and laughing while taking pictures or recording it. There were two guys on the floor, going at one another, punching and kicking around. There was fast food scattered about the floor around them. There were no security guards in sight yet.

Jae could count from the fingers of half a hand the times he’d had an uneventful hang out with friends (the craziest having been, of course, the previous night).

This time would naturally not help fill that handful.

Jae snorted at the stupid scene, kind of wanting to know what had started it.

“We’re home, Kevin!” He snorted looking at Kevin who was also losing it but the others didn’t seem to like it much “Nothing like a good ol’ scrap to let off some steam.”

“Hopefully nobody will get shanked in the knee.” Kevin said and Jae snorted and pulled out his phone to film it.

“I don’t want to know why you specifically said ‘ _in the knee_ ’.” Jae declared before he pulled out his phone.

“What?” He asked when he noticed Jimin judging him “Quality content must be filmed.” He just filmed a bit and posted it to his Instagram, tagging everyone he was with, and adding the captcha « _feels just like home_ #notfeelinghomesickanymore #saynotoviolencefam #’hopefullynobodywillgetshankedintheknee’ #-WooKevin2k17 #dont’annaknowwhatyouveseenbro #reallydont »

Jae checked the time on the top corner of his screen. Twenty past seven. Brian should be turning up anytime soon, since the park was really close.

One of the guys had been stripped off his shirt by the other when the security guards finally turned up and tried to separate the fight. The other had a bloody nose and looked very angry.

Jae was enjoying the scene so much that he barely had the time to register that the sudden familiar scent of perfume was Brian’s before he was cheekily attacked from behind. He felt a knee softly hit the back of his left one. Jae gasped in surprise almost throwing his phone into the air almost feeling the floor already.

Brian didn’t let him fall though.

He put both of his hands on the bottom of the guitar he had on his back to keep him upright.

“Hey.” Brian greeted with a grin as Jae caught his breath from the fright “I saw your Instagram post, it was easy to find you.” He told him in way of explanation seeing Jae’s surprised look when he turned back.

_(Karma.)_

“Hi, Brian! Just in time to see conclusion of the match.” Kevin cackled. Jimin and Wonpil were still not enjoying the scene. Dowoon had given in and was also laughing, pointing at the wasted food on the floor.

Jae stared at Brian for a solid two seconds to make sure he was real.

 _Unscathed_.

As beautiful _and free_ as ever, with his guitar on his back, the nerdy charms dangling from the zipper of his bag. He almost did throw his phone away to hold him and make sure he was real but he didn’t. He just sighed deeply instead, shaking his head.

“You really want me to have a heart attack and die.” Jae said with a snort “Did you get paid at least?” Jae asked and Brian shook his head.

“They always pay me the day after, the parents.” Brian told him with a shrug “It’s fine though. I prefer to have the money in my bank account anyway. Were you really that scared?” He raised an eyebrow with a small smile and Jae scoffed.

“Of _what_?” He asked, pursing his lips “You taking a selfie with the guy that had, that almost caught us last night or you attacking my knee from behind?”

The others chortled at that but their attention went back to the fight when they saw the security guards finally control the brawlers and drag them away.

It turned out that the bout had started because of a couple of stolen Big Macs with fries.

“Bro, that’s so sad…”

Jae momentarily forgot about how Brian was trying to kill him and felt sorry for them.

(That was _the realest_ rock-bottom in his book.)

* * *

 

“I was so shocked when I saw him!” Brian told them as they walked out of the shopping centre, Jae just shook his head, judging him very hard “But he really didn’t recognise me. You’re making me feel guilty, Jae-hyung!” He chortled and he did look it.

“ _Good._ ” Jae said pointedly making their friends laugh “Because I was, I was damn scared for you and you thought I was joking!”

Brian raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion.

“When did I think that?”

“You said you would, you would pretend not to know me, if I turned myself in.” Jae squinted at him with pursed lips and Brian chuckled and looked at him.

“I would really do that though.”

“Doesn’t really surprise me that the waiter didn’t recognise you, to be honest.” Jimin commented, filling the sudden silence (Jae couldn’t come back with anything quick enough and she helped a little) “I did some waitressing a while back and I, like, I could hardly remember people’s faces. Especially at the end of the day.”

“Makes sense.” Kevin chuckled not making much of Jae’s silence since he wasn’t paying much attention anyway.

“But this idiot asked the guy to take a selfie with him!” Jae complained and Brian chortled.

“I couldn’t resist!”

_Too damn daring._

“We all know you’re a softy, Jae-oppa” Jimin teased, softly elbowing his side and Jae was about to feel betrayed but she kept going “you care a lot about everyone.”

“Well” Jae pursed his lips “maybe I care _a little_.” He scoffed.

(And he thought that he should have offered to get Jimin something else, because she had done nothing but save him from awkward situations all day).

“ _Oh_ ” Kevin pointed ahead with a grin when they walked out of the shopping centre. It had gotten a bit windy and the sun had almost set by then.

There was a large crowd in the now less busy square making a circle around the flower patch with the bench around it where they’d been sitting on early.

The dusky colours of the late afternoon sun, pouring in through the buildings and faintly illuminating the square and the crowd made it look almost ethereal.

They could hear talent in the air.

“I saw him when I got here.” Brian told the others with a grin “It gave me the chills!”

“It’s really him!” Jimin grinned excitedly, fisting her hands “Oh, I love this song!”

He was playing a cover of a pop song but with an acoustic rock twist, completely different from the original, yet still recognisable.

It was ‘ _I’ll be Back’_ by popular boy group _2pm._

Jae didn’t quite know this one but Jimin and Wonpil clearly did as they jammed away with it even though it was clear that Sungjin was changing it too much for it to be an easy thing to do.

They crowd erupted in applause when he finished and some people walked over to drop money in his guitar bag before dispersing as he thanked them with smiles and respectfully bowed his head.

“ _Oh_ ” he widened his eyes when he spotted Jae and Brian in the crowd, clearly surprised to see them there “Park Jaehyung and Kang Younghyun. What are you guys doing over here?” He asked as they walked towards him with the rest of the squad on tow. Sungjin scooped the money from the bag and stuffed it in his big... _denim hip pack._

“Oh, our friends from school.” Jae pointed at the younger ones who walked ahead and bashfully introduced themselves “They said they were your fans and knew you’d be over here. And we” he indicated himself, Brian and Kevin who also introduced himself “wanted to make sure the legend was real.” Jae grinned “And it really _is_.”

Sungjin smiled at them looking somewhat embarrassed at the compliment.

“I’ve seen you around.” He told the younger ones with a coy sort of smile “I’m glad you like to hear me play.”

“We love it!” Jimin exclaimed unable to contain herself “You always look so cool and so focused!”

Sungjin blushed a little and muttered a small thank you. Jae glanced at her with a teasing smirk.

“You’re gonna call him _sunbae_?” He asked and she raised an eyebrow.

“ _Bitch,_ I might.” She defied, placing her hands on her hips before looking over at Dowoon and Wonpil for support “It’s true, isn’t it?”

“It is.” Wonpil agreed evenly but clearly excited as well “I’ve come over here with Dowoonie before. Park Sungjin-sun... _hyung_ is amazing.” He cleared his throat and blushed aggressively looking down..

“I remember you.” Sungjin smiled and they couldn’t avoid grinning, clearly pleased that the person they admired remembered them. Sungjin’s eyes fell on the instruments on Jae’s and Brian’s backs.

If Sungjin said he didn’t want to play with them, it was alright by Jae and Brian, but the idea of the band had sunk deep into their minds, like a seed of something being planted and quickly spreading its roots.

“You’re also here to do some busking?” Sungjin asked and both Brian and Jae noticed the expectant tone and they knew then that it wasn’t just them (granted, it’d been Sungjin to mention his dream to have a band in the first place).

“Done a little earlier. Got Starbucks with it.” Jae said dismissively and Brian snorted “Actually” Jae started with a grin “we wanted to know if you’d mind if we joined you.”

Wonpil gasped, looking at Jae in disbelief.

 _The nerve_.

But he wasn’t alone. Jimin and Dowoon also looked surprised at the request.

Sungjin fell silent for a moment, eyes wide and lips parted before he smiled.

That smile that reached his eyes.

“To play together?” He asked before raising an eyebrow.

“Yep.” Jae nodded with a smile.

“Can I trust you?” Sungjin asked playfully and Jae scoffed airily.

“We are all competent musicians.” He signalled all of his friends. He declared already pulling his guitar from his back as Brian did the same “Give us a chance.”

Sungjin chuckled before eyeing the others. Jae looked back at them and beckoned them over.

“I can’t play anything right now...” Wonpil mumbled showing his empty hands and pursing his lips and it was clear that he also wanted to have the privilege of performing alongside Sungjin. Jae helped with that.

“But you can sing, come over and don’t complain.” Wonpil did as he was told, clearly not wanting to argue.

Dowoon looked kind of bummed.

“I wouldn’t mind joining either... but I can’t even sing properly...” Brian patted his back with a scoff.

“Come on, you’re a lot better now! Plus, you can find other ways of creating rhythm. You’re a natural.” He looked round and spotted a candy shop nearby, his face lighting up “Hold this for me, please.” He grinned, dropping his guitar in Dowoon’s unexpecting arms and quickly making his way towards it.

“Where’s he going?” Jae asked looking in the direction Brian had disappeared into. Dowoon shrugged.

They waited for Brian to return.

“Maybe he felt like getting some candy?” Jimin shrugged in confusion but that wasn’t it. Brian returned a couple minutes later with two large tin cans of _Chupa Chups_ and beaming brightly “Or _a lot_ of candy.”

“ _Percussion._ ” Brian simply said when he was already at hearing distance. Nobody understood as he walked over to Dowoon and exchanged his guitar for the tins that Dowoon held in confusion for a second before he understood and a cute grin spread over his face.

“For real, hyung?” He asked.

“Do your magic, Dowoonie!” Brian winked with a grin. Jae had already pulled his guitar out of his bag and suddenly they all understood what was Brian’s idea “We can eat the candy at the end.” Brian laughed as he pulled his guitar out of his bag and the others laughed along.

“You were singing 2pm.” Brian affirmed and Sungjin nodded “Should we go for another one from them?”

“Oh, I like _‘Again &Again’._” Jae suggested, looking round for support. It came.

Dowoon had sat on the floor with the _Chupa Chups_ tins. He pulled off his own jacket, despite how cold it was, and put it over them to muffle the metallic sound when he started hitting them. Wonpil had sat down beside him. Brian and Jae sat one on each side of Sungjin with Jimin sitting beside Jae and Kevin sitting beside Brian on the other side.

Everyone would sing if they wanted to.

“You know the chords?” Sungjin asked and Jae nodded, Brian nodded as well “Three guitars.” He hummed looking from one side to the other “Who’ll be the lead?”

“Of course the _Legendary_ Park Sungjin will be the lead.” Jae said with a scoff and Sungjin chuckled clearly embarrassed by the exaggerated compliment.

“Power chords?” He asked and Jae and Brian looked at one another in silence before Jae snorted.

“Brian _for sure_.” He declared confidently and Brian smiled a little, looking down at his guitar. Jae kind of liked the look “I’ll do the open ones. If we mess up, we’ll just improvise a little. Doesn’t have to be perfect.” Jae declared unceremoniously and the others chuckled “We gotta get the lyrics though, that’s the most important bit.” He said pulling his phone out of his pocket. The others did the same with their own phones.

Jae wouldn’t lie.

He was really looking forward to see how they worked together, but what he was the most curious about was how Brian performed.

Sure, he’d seen him in class but that wasn’t the same thing at all. When they did it in class there was always someone grading their performance so it was never 100% legit.

That’s why Jae wanted to see how Brian worked when he wasn’t doing it for the As.

And, in short, he was not disappointed.

It was _a thousand times_ better (if that was even possible, mind).

Jae was sure that his infatuation for Brian Kang, the madman who would eventually give him a heart attack, just grew stronger and he wasn’t even sure if that was a good thing or not.

Brian had great voice projection and the passion just poured from his whole being when he sang and played, if his headbanging was any sign of it. His eyes met with Jae’s more than once and if Jae didn’t share a similar passion and was equally as focused, he would have kept staring. They messed up quite a bit, but it hardly made a difference, because the vocals were on point, especially since they hadn’t assigned the parts of the song to anybody. They just went on and called each other’s names to have them sing the following part. Dowoon was killing it with the _Chupa Chups_ tins.

Brian’s rapping had Jae unashamedly join the now considerably larger crowd in the cheers they chanted when he did it _perfectly_ , gesturing with both his hands for emphasis.

After that one they sang one by famous girl group _Twice_ and Jimin joined them with a blissful grin (singing with Park Sungjin, _it was a dream_ ). It was just as good as before. They sang _TT_ and Jimin even pulled the cute little dance, despite it being clear that she wanted to laugh as she went.

They sang a couple more by _2pm_ and then a couple more by _Twice,_ with the special participation of Jimin and Kevin as dancers and vocals.

If Jae had to describe the feeling of playing with his friends, he would have a really hard time. It was a feeling that was beyond poetry. It was like eating something really nice at the end of a long, tiring day. Like the warm hug of a loved one. Like a reassuring pat on the back.

It wasn’t something that could or should be attempted to be explained with words. It had to be felt.

The people demanded at least one more and Jae wanted to go for a song in English, just for the heck of it, so he tried since they were reading the lyrics off their phones anyway.

“Can we try one in English?” Jae asked sheepishly and Sungjin nodded, sweating and glowing but clearly on cloud nine. Jae had a feeling he could have asked him to stand up and start dancing and he would have done just that.

“Which one?” Sunjin asked.

Jae didn’t even miss a beat.

“ _Can’t take my eyes off you_ by Frankie Valli. You know this one?” He asked expectantly and he looked at Brian who seemed excited about it as he typed on his phone to find the lyrics and the others did the same.

Their acoustic rendition of the song was what was almost _too good to be true_ and Jae was pretty shameless, almost unable to _take his eyes off_ Brian, who was always beaming brightly and making Jae’s silly heart race.

( _Madre de Dios_ , who _allowed_ that smile under the electric lights of the night!?)

But busking was awesome, Jae decided. The outdoors, the breeze, the people just standing around them cheering them on, leaving whatever they were out there to do just to watch them.

It was _lit._

Brian seemed to be Dowoon’s number one fan because he insisted that he sang the chorus with the rest of them and he ended up giving in.

It wasn’t that bad, Jae thought as they all chuckled a little, seeing that Dowoon was embarrassed and had also snorted. He just really lacked voice projection and confidence. With time and practice he would surely get there.

And yep.

Jae _really_ wouldn’t mind doing it again with these boys.

* * *

 

The crowd sounded upset when they called the end of their impromptu concert but they erupted in applause and cheers anyway before some of them threw in more money. There was so much money (even a couple of _bank notes_ ) in Sungjin’s guitar bag, that Jae was worried that somebody would come by and nick it.

It was past 9pm and they had to go back. It was dark and cold, despite how warm it felt.

Jae’s heart was still beating fast against his ribs, and so was Brian’s, and so was Sungjin’s and Wonpil’s and Dowoon’s. Their faces were glowing.

“We must split the money.” Sungjin said after a while when the crowd dispersed after tipping them generously “There’s just so much!”

As much as Jae liked money, that didn’t feel right. The others agreed.

“No way, man! We just tagged along. It was an honour to play with you. You’re even, you're a lot better than we’d expected.” Jae actually bowed which was something he often forgot to do.

Sungjin smiled but then he shook his head (he was clearly bad at taking compliments).

“Alright, I, I need to pay for lots of stuff so I’m not gonna, I won't deny that I need money…but you know what we’ll do?” He asked looking from Brian who was packing his guitar to Jae “We’ll drop by that restaurant and pay our debt.”

Jae and Brian lost it as Wonpil and Dowoon looked at him in shock.

(Their legend, _a criminal_.)

Kevin just looked surprised and snorted, shaking his head. He looked like he was ready to accept pretty much anything, at this point.

“Really, man?” Jae asked between tears “After all that trouble!?”

“I barely slept last nice because of the guilt! We must do the right thing.” Sungjin told them very seriously and Dowoon and Wonpil looked reassured “Let’s go, my van is back there. We’ll do it and then apologise for it.”

“Can I stay in the van though?” Brian requested between chuckles and Sungjin squinted at him and he raised his hands in a placating way, chuckling “No, no, really. I met the waiter earlier today and he, uh, he didn’t recognise me then, but he’ll definitely recognise me now.”

Sungjin nodded with a sigh.

“Alright, it’ll be just me and Jae, then.”

* * *

 

Brian took the passenger’s seat and the rest of the gang sat on the back of it. Jae finally told them the details of their crime and escape in none other but Park Sungjin’s van the previous night.

“I just forgot my wallet.” Sungjin explained with a sigh “It was too late to do something about it because I was already eating.”

“I would have never thought that you’d have it in you to pull something like that!” Kevin exclaimed “Brian has always seemed so quiet to me.”

“Never judge a book by its cover. The quiet ones are the worst.” Jae said wisely and he heard Brian cackle in the front seat.

“I can hear you!”

“I wanted you to!” Jae countered, laughing “Anyway, Park Sungjin-ssi wants us to be good citizens, so we gotta go there and pay.” He nodded gravely as they all lost it.

* * *

 

The waiter and the owners of the restaurant didn’t really recognise them until they told them what they’d done the previous night. Then they were both mad and surprised, and ultimately they forgave them, after Sungjin handed over enough money to cover what they’d consumed and they apologised profusely.

“It’s not the first time people do that” the owner grumbled “but it’s the first time they come back to pay. So, I guess you’ll be welcomed here in the future…as long as you don’t pull that again.”

“Definitely won’t do it again, sir, we promise.” Sungjin said, bowing along with Jae.

“Yeah, never again, sir.”

“There was a third person with you, wasn’t there?” The waiter asked suspiciously “I can’t recall his face at all. I just know he’s a fast runner.”

Jae almost burst out laughing. Brian had been right. The guy hadn’t recognised him at all.

“He was too, uh, he was too embarrassed. Didn’t want to come out here you see? He’s just as sorry as us though.” Jae avowed with another bow.

“Alright. Don’t do that again, boys.” The owner told them with a sigh “Thank you for being honest.”

“We’re the ones who should thank you!” Sungjin declared bowing again “Goodbye, gentlemen.”

 

* * *

 

“Doesn’t it feel better now?” Sungjin asked when they walked back to the van where the others were waiting expectantly. Jae shrugged.

“Well, at least we won’t have to be scared to walk down this road…”  He chortled when they walked back to the van where the others were waiting on them. Jae leaned into Brian’s open window and sighed.

“What did the waiter say?”

“He really didn’t remember you.” Jae snorted and Brian grinned.

“See? I told you! That’s why I said you should leave first, hyung, it’s so, it's a lot easier to remember you.” Brian declared and Jae scoffed.

(He _did not_ want to hear that from the guy who’d been in his thoughts for so damn long but _okay_ ).

“We’re not criminals anymore, Brian.” Jae said with a dramatic sigh “Our record has been cleaned.”

“Back to being just regular students.” Brian played along, shaking his head “The criminal life isn’t for us.” Jae nodded.

“The life we could have had...I could almost see us becoming a super criminal duo...” Jae mused wistfully “like Sly and Gobbo...” Brian covered his eyes and snorted when he finally got the reference.

“But Park Sungjin decided that he wanted to be Mr Plod.” Jae stated and Brian laughed out loud.

“Are you genuinely making Noddy references, you nerd?” Jimin asked in disbelief. Sungjin didn’t seem to have realised what they were talking about.

The others cackled as Jae and Sungjin got back in the van and Sungjin drove off.

“Kind of chilly back here, isn’t it?” Jimin complained with a sigh after a little while “I mean, I bet it’s great in the summer…”

“I’m thinking about getting a couple of fleece throws and stuff to keep in the van.” Sungjin said loud enough so that everyone could hear “Since getting another car is out of the question. And so is getting another glass window.”

“I feel you, man.” Jae told him “Get the throws and some pillows too, maybe. Also one of those dogs with the dangly heads.” He grinned, shaking his head to mimic said decorative object, and Brian cackled.

“My dad had one of those in our car.” He said “But my mum hated it so we had to get rid of it. I liked to look at _Shitstain_ during our car rides.” He shook his head dramatically. Only those who spoke English got the joke and laughed out loud before letting the others in on the fun and they all laughed.

“You definitely need to get one of those, Sungjin-ssi!” Jae exclaimed, kneeling behind him and Brian “For good luck.”

“And call it _Shitstain 2.0_!” Brian jibed and Sungjin chuckled.

“I’ll get one.” He promised with a nod “ _Shitstain 2.0_.”

It sounded funnier when he said it and Brian laughed heartily.

The sound of Brian’s laugh carried by the wind along with the roaring of the engine, late at night. Jae smiled at him in silence for a moment before he cleared his throat.

“What happened to the back glass though?” Jae asked curiously and Sungjin sighed falling quiet for a moment before he replied.

“Sledgehammer.” He simply said and Jae gasped. Brian just widened his eyes in surprise.

“What happened with the sledgehammer?” Jae asked cautiously. The others had also fallen silent, curious, and Sungjin chortled.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I told you two before that I do odd jobs, didn’t I?” He asked turning to Brian who nodded (the others clearly didn’t know that though. The legend, _doing odd jobs_ ) “Right, and those involve stuff like plumbing and painting and whatnot. Mowing lawns, shaping bushes, that kind of thing. One time I had to demolish a wall, so I needed the sledgehammer.” He sighed “When I was done, I threw it into the van too aggressively, it seems. I think there are still shards of glass around even though I tried to get rid of all of them.”

Jae couldn’t help laughing out loud imagining Sungjin working that kind of stuff.

“So, you’re a bit like Bob, the Builder!” Jae teased and Brian snorted, looking to the side “You kind of look like him too, now that I think of it. Just get a yellow construction helmet and you’re him.”

The others laughed out loud. But Sungjin wasn’t offended. He chuckled before shaking his head.

“I guess I can’t deny that that’s kind of what I do.” Sungjin shrugged as he shifted the gear before smiling “I liked playing with you guys today.” He changed the subject back to what really mattered.

“I don’t think I gotta say that I also did.” Jae grinned and he exchanged a look with Brian who smiled softly “I guess I can speak for everyone, to be honest.” He chuckled.

“It was awesome!” Dowoon’s deep voice suddenly joined them, muffled by the lollipop he was sucking on “Next time let’s try it with actual drums, I’ll show you what I’ve _really_ got then.” He promised with a sticky smile because of the sugar.

“Yes. Next time I also want to play.” Wonpil avowed, also sucking on a lollipop.

“I don’t want to be saying things” Kevin chimed in with a grin. Yep, he was also sucking on a lollipop, as was Jimin “but I think, hm, I think it’s been a while since I’ve seen, like, a group of people work so well together without any practice.”

“Pass the lollipops over.” Jae complained, momentarily ignoring her compliment “You’re eating them and not sharing. Not cool. Brian paid for them.” He complained and Brian chuckled “What flavour do you want, Brian?”

“Orange.”

“Make that two orange-flavoured ones. Sungjin-ssi?”

“Strawberry.”

“Strawberry too.”

“And it wasn’t even planned, mind.” Jimin reminded, after passing over the lollipops, with a loud popping sound as she pulled the treat out of her mouth “I wanna be informed the next time you do this.”

_Next time._

The boys fell silent but there was something _building_ among them as they unwrapped their candy (Brian unwrapped Sungjin’s, since he couldn’t take both his hands off the wheel).

It was a bond, maybe. A bond that could just make Sungjin’s dream come true and turn the ‘O’ in ‘bond’ into an ‘A’.

The promise of a _next time_ stuck deep in their minds.

“Right, we’re getting dinner. I’ll pay with the money we made today” Sungjin said, his voice muffled by the lollipop he wasn’t taking out of his mouth “Where do you want to go?”

“Now we’re talking! I feel like eating a burger.” Jae suggested unable to contain himself “And after all that drama I feel like I need to go fancy too.”

They all laughed as Jae told Sungjin the story of the brawl at the shopping centre.

Nobody seemed to be against that idea or have a better one, so, that fateful night, that beautiful, _promising_ night, they went for some very healthy and very fancy McDonald’s and, this time, they got Sungjin’s number as well as his Instagram user.

Jae posted a silly group selfie while they were at McDonald’s, with great focus on the burgers and drinks, and tagged the whole squad with the captcha,

**« _Da Squad going fanceeyyy_ #squadgoals #dontbejealousofallthiswealth #workforit #livingthelife @mcdonalds_kr #werelovingit**

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i only apologise for Mr Plod/Sungjin)


	5. "What to do when you get there", Fred Wah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian reads poetry to Jae during their bus trip to school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, fam, I'm glad you're still here for this thing! /shot
> 
> Once again, this and the next chapter were supposed to be one and the same chapter but it was getting long as hell so I decided to slice it in half. Again. The next chapter will hopefully be posted either tomorrow or on Friday and it's just...boy... lmao im sorry in advance tbh 
> 
> In this chapter: more bonding time, more bad jokes, a bit of Brian's pov, Jae suffering, f e e l i n g s, uhhh... what else, definitely typos and stuff because of the editing (lol), and yeah, the poetry. There's poetry in here.  
> Poet Brian was a tag right from the start (because I dig that concept...so much...) and I love Fred Wah and Leonard Cohen, who just so happen to be Canadian lol (killmepls)
> 
> Anyway, this is long and idek /sweating intensifies/ thank you for staying around and I hope you enjoy this (somewhat literally) 'cheesy' chapter as well  
> By e

* * *

 

Jae dreamt that night and it was a wonderful thing. Most of his dreams involved busking and all the good stuff.

( _Yes,_ of course Brian had been there, but it had all been decent.

 _Honest._ )

He woke up in a cold sweat after his dream changed and he was suddenly being chased down by a gigantic Big Mac called Frank who wanted him to eat his gherkins.

“ _Why?”_ He groaned turning to the side to get his glasses and check the time “So early…” It was 11:44 on his phone and it was indeed early because he would only have classes at 2pm.

It was _Blessed Thursday_ , as Jae fondly referred to it, because it was the only bloody day in whole damn week when they only had classes in the afternoon. He could sleep in to his heart’s content. Also they had no lectures, only practical, instrument lessons.

(Wonpil did wake him up when he got up for his 9am and Jae may or may not have told him to go die.)

He kind of wanted to go back to sleep for at least another half-hour but then he started thinking and suddenly wasn’t even that sleepy anymore _(he was also hungry, there was also that)._

The previous day and everything that had happened then made its way back to his mind and he couldn’t help smiling at the ceiling. It was so unbelievable, _all of it_ , but it was also so thrilling.

_Next time._

“A’ight, up we go” he puffed as he sat up and yawned before getting up. He rolled his eyes and shook his head when he noticed that Wonpil had once again left one of his notes on Jae’s desk.

 

**«Yesterday was the coolest, Jaehyung-hyung!! We got to play with Park Sungjin-hyung and everyone!!! Waaa… I loved it so much!! *T-T* It was all thanks to you, hyung!!** **❤** **I hope you slept well, have a good day!** **❤❤❤** **»**

 

Jae snorted at the note. _Alright_ this one wasn’t _that_ silly (even though it was still _unnecessarily_ cutesy). He opened the second drawer of his desk and chucked it inside it (like he did to the other ones) before he closed it and stretched, feeling his back crack a bit as he yawned.

It was rather cold this morning, he noticed, before he went over to the window and pulled the curtains back. He groaned when the whitish grey light hit his face. The sky had gotten overcast and Jae was kind of hoping that it wouldn’t rain because he hadn’t gotten a new umbrella after screwing up his during the previous downpour.

(Jimin had called him a hoarder for keeping that piece of literal rubbish in his room but he had ignored her and kept it anyway. It was a dollar store one and it had lasted for about two years, despite being rusty and having two broken rods.

_A valuable soldier that had served its duty bravely and should thus be honoured)._

* * *

 

“Hey there. Shouldn’t you be in class?” Jae asked when he saw Jinyoung (Jr. for most) walk out of his room when he walked out of his. He was in Wonpil and JB’s group and Jae had the idea that he a hard-worker. But well, _never judge a book by its cover, eh?_

“Hey, Jae-hyung. I was practicing until 2am last night.” He yawned while they walked together to the bathroom. “And it was Theory. I couldn’t do it.” He told him with a huff.

“Fair enough, excuse accepted.” Jae offered with a nod and Jinyoung chuckled as he rubbed his eyes.

“Thanks. JB called me something I couldn’t understand when I told him that I wasn’t going.” He chortled “It sounded a lot like _weak potato_.”

“ _Weak potato_.” Jae repeated with a snort, thinking about how mad _morning_ JB must have looked when he said that and finding it a lot funnier because of that “I think I told Wonpil to go die because he woke me up” He mused and Jinyoung snorted “but I’m not sure in what language, so there’s a high chance he thought I was just mumbling incoherently.”

Jinyoung laughed out loud.

“Did he do it on purpose?”

“Not sure…” Jae hummed “Wouldn’t be surprising...” He said gravely and then he felt the distinct smell of fried food coming from the kitchen and realised that he was starving and would still have to cook lunch.

“I wish I could have landed the catered do-o-orm.” He groaned pulling a face “Don’t feel like cooking at all.”

“Aw… you’re making it sound like it’s awful in here.” Jinyoung chuckled and Jae snorted. _Sure,_ he thought it was awful there, with all the friends he’d made _and_ with Brian Kang living there as well. _Definitely_ horrible.

“I wouldn’t have to cook.” Jae glanced down at him “Go and tell me you wouldn’t have preferred a catered dorm as well, Jr.”

“Yeah, but with all the people from here.” Jinyoung stressed vehemently and Jae chuckled before yawning and glancing at the rain that had already started pouring against the windows. _Tough luck._ “Also…it’s Jinyoung.” Jinyoung pursed his lips looking up at him with a tired smile. Jae shook his head and waved his hand as they reached the bathroom and he took one of the stalls.

“Sorry, yeah. I keep forgetting about that.” He told him as he locked himself into one of the other stalls. Jinyoung locked himself in one of the others.

“Everyone keeps forgetting about it.” He complained with a sigh “It was kind of funny at the beginning but now it’s just a bit annoying.”

“Well, at least everyone knows who you are.” Jae chuckled, turning on the water and waiting for it to get warm as he got rid of his pyjamas.

“Yeah, but they don’t remember me for me.” Jinyoung protested and Jae heard him turn the water on as well “Some guy once genuinely asked me if I was his son!”

Jae started laughing but it turned into a cry when he stepped under the scorching water. It always happened because he couldn’t see for shit and always took his glasses off before turning on the water. He swore under his breath before trying to regulate it into a decent temperature “Jesus Christ, man. They’re trying to make my skin fall off!” Jinyoung cackled.

“You should be used to that. At least they have good pressure, just settle for lukewarm, it doesn’t feel cold after a while.” Jinyoung advised and Jae already knew that, he just couldn’t see amidst all the steam no matter how much he squinted “I heard that the ones on C-floor are awful and have no pressure. Always look on the bright side!” He yelled over the sound of the spray of the showers.

“Yeah, I know.” Jae said back with a sigh when he finally managed to get an adequate temperature before he looked at the foggy high window and remembered the rain that would probably come “It’s already raining, I don’t even know why I’m showering. Might as well go outside with the shampoo and stuff and save drinking water and energy.” He heard Jinyoung cackle but then they fell silent as they finished showering.

What? It was kind of true, wasn’t it? Drinking water was just about 3% of all the water on the planet and most of it was in the ice caps.

_(Which were being melted off by Brian Kang’s smile, he was still calling it)._

* * *

 

Right, and since that was no catered dorm and they had to cook their own food if they wanted to eat, lunch was Jae’s next priority. Or _brunch_. Or a bit of both. He could have regular lunch food and some toast to go with it to make for a more wholesome meal ( _genius)._

He thought about Brian, his now _definitely_ crush, and wondered if he was still sleeping, debating whether he should walk over to the South Wing to knock on his door.

He decided against it when he had a better idea. He would cook lunch first and then casually invite him to join him if he wanted, as a thank you for cooking breakfast for him the previous day, of course _(carefully planned moves, don’t be jealous of such genius_ ).

They said that _‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’_ and, well, Jae wasn’t sure about other men, but he knew that feeding him tasty food was certainly a foolproof shortcut to his heart (not that Brian needed shortcuts _, let’s be honest_ ).

Jae wasn’t exactly Gordon Ramsay, sure, but he could cook seriously tasty food. Granted, it looked messy as hell but what mattered was the way it tasted, not the way it looked ( _stop being so shallow_ ).

* * *

 

Brian was still very much asleep in the dark of his room, warm in his bed, when he woke up with the sound of his phone buzzing on his bedside-table.

He groaned when he reached his hand to grab it, thinking for a wild moment that it was his alarm clock and not a text message like it in fact was.

“No…” He groaned, grabbing his phone to check the time. He realised that it was a text from Jae when he blearily looked at the screen when he saw the message. He managed not to be too mad at it even though it had woken him up.

**Jae**

**«hi there, bro »**

**Brian Kang**

_«hi »_

**«i woke u up didn’t i lol »**

**_«_ ** _you did but it’s alright »_

**«of course it is. it’s past noon, man »**

**«sleeping too much is bad for u »**

**_«_ ** _I don’t care lol »_

_«classes start at 2 »_

**«lunch though »**

**«or brunch »**

**«or whaetevr really »**

**«food, bro, food »**

 

Brian grumbled onto his pillow thinking about it. He was indeed hungry but he didn’t feel like getting out of bed, let alone go out there and cook. He’d been having such pleasant dreams, and he felt so cosy in bed, with the rain hitting softly on the window, lulling him right back to sleep...

**«** _I’m just gonna get some instanoodles_

_or something tbh lol »_

**«Nutritious lol »**

**«I’m having Jae’s special delicatessen »**

**«Pasta à la sausage with cheese and toast »**

**«Interested? »**

Brian grinned at the prospect.

**_«_ ** _Sounds lovely! »_

**«It is »**

**«Come over to D’s kitchen »**

**«Im feeling generous »**

**«Even though u almost killed me yesterday, you crazy person »**

Brian chuckled at the message as the meaning popped in his still waking mind.

He really couldn’t understand how or why Jae had gotten so distressed about that stuff when it was obvious that everything was alright.

But well, it was Jae.

Brian liked to think that he was somewhat good at understanding people, but so far Jae had done nothing but confuse him.

_«Thank you so much for being so generous! »_

**_«_ ** _Give me20 minutes »_

**«ok »**

 

 

That was a wonderful thing to wake up to, Brian thought. He’d never tried pasta with sausages and cheese before but even if it wasn’t that good, he would eat it. You don’t get to be choosy with free food.

Keeping his promise, no more than twenty minutes later he was in D-floor’s kitchen and Jae had already finished cooking and was alone in the kitchen. Brian ruffled his wet hair with his fingers and saw that Jae looked pleased to see him which made him beam happily in return. The food smelled great (even though the bins were still filled with rotten rubbish to the brim).

“The masterpiece is ready. Also made toast so that it can be brunch too.” Jae jibed, pointing at his blonde fringe to indicate his head “ _Clever_ , eh?”

“It is!” Brian chuckled as he walked to the table.

He brought the pot onto the table where he’d already put two plates and two sets of chopsticks on. They were still stacked so Brian grabbed them and put one on each side of the table.

“The elected beverage for this noble occasion will be water because there’s nothing else.” Jae snorted pulling the bottled water from the fridge “At least it’s bottled. Unless you prefer milk?” He showed him the jug and looked over at him.

Brian chortled shaking his head.

“No, thanks. Water is perfect.” He said and he pulled the lid off the pot. It smelled nice “It smells nice!” He exclaimed. Of course, polite Brian wouldn’t comment on the looks of the thing (it was a yellowish paste mixed with the brown of the sausages and Jae wouldn’t have been offended if Brian had said it looked like cat barf, as Jimin had once said, because it kind of did. But it tasted great _, mind you_ )

“It tastes a lot better than it looks, I promise.” Jae assured with a chuckle as he sat down and grabbed the pasta pot. He just tipped it onto his plate and pulled some onto it with his chopsticks. Brian laughed at that “Those assholes broke the spaghetti spoon. Pass me your plate.” Brian did and Jae did the same he’d done to his, just pulling a load of the mix onto it before putting the pot down and pushing the plate back to Brian.

“Thank you for the food!” Brian said with a grin before he daringly got his chopsticks, rolled a load of it and shoved it in his mouth, unafraid. Jae wasn’t really surprised that he would be so daring ( _truly a mystery why it would be so_ ) but the first time Jimin had tried his cooking, she had taken a little persuasion to give it a go. Jae was staring at him, expectantly waiting for his reaction.

Brian didn’t save on expressing that he enjoyed it and Jae wished he could have snapped a candid of the face he made when he looked at him. He looked at Jae who was already smiling that playful smug smile of his.

“It’s great, isn’t it?” Jae asked airily “Told you. _Never judge a book by its cover.”_ He said wisely.

“It’s really tasty!” Brian exclaimed “Thank you for sharing it with me, Jae.”

“No prob, bro, tell me if you want seconds, we gotta finish all this.” He chuckled gesturing towards the pot with his chopsticks before sniffling and pulling some pasta into his mouth “Plus, you cooked me breakfast yesterday too.” He told him, munching on his food “And I only share my food with the deserving ones.” He said in faux seriousness.

Brian grinned from ear to ear and snorted, before taking more food to his mouth.

“I am honoured then.” He played along “I hope I manage to stay ‘ _a deserving one’_ …” he paused with a guilty smile “despite scaring you.”

“Don’t worry. Once you’re in the list, it’s hard to get out of it.” Jae assured with a chuckle as he drank some water from his glass.

Brian hummed into the food and he remembered something from a couple days back. Literally a couple days back. It felt like much longer.

“What about the snake list?” He smiled impishly and Jae raised a thin eyebrow with a little smirk.

“We’ll see about that one.” He said gravely as he munched on his pasta “That one’s hard to get out of.”

Brian laughed at that but then he fell silent, eating his food. Jae hummed, in deep thought.

“Though I _believe_ ” he started emphasising the word believe with a slight head tilt “that you don’t really qualify as a snake because you ain’t _that_ sneaky. You’re a different kind of dangerous animal.”

He was pleased when he saw Brian laugh into his food before looking up at him.

“What kind?” He asked curiously getting a piece of the kitchen roll that was beside them on the table to wipe his mouth. Jae mused deeply while eating his pasta. Good question. What kind? Something that wouldn’t really skulk about to attack and was instead daring and flashy about killing its prey. Or something that would kill you from a heart attack.

_The second one._

“Something that will eventually kill me from a heart attack.” He declared and Brian laughed, thinking that he was just joking (newsflash: he wasn’t).

Brian squinted, musing about it. He widened his eyes and grinned when he remembered.

“Oh, a Poison Dart Frog! Its poison kills you from a heart attack!”

Jae almost choked on his food.

“Perfect!” Jae said, chortling “How do you even know that, though?”

“National Geographic.” Brian told him with a chuckle before he changed the subject “I still don’t know why you were so scared, though.” He said slurping his pasta with a smile “Wasn’t it obvious that it was alright?”

Jae snorted and pursed his lips, shaking his head. _Oh, Brian._

“Look, bro, the criminal life really isn’t for me.” Jae avowed chasing the pasta with a sip of his water and dramatically putting the glass back on the table “I don’t want my ass to get locked up in some stinky prison cell. I have better plans for my life.”

Brian shrugged at that before chuckling a little.

“Fair enough.” He said with a nod “But I don’t think people go to jail for leaving restaurants without paying.” He smiled.

“This is a crazy world. People get arrested for stealing bread, man.” Jae countered pointedly, looking gravely at him. Brian frowned before snorting.

“Like Jean Valjean from _Les Misérables_?” He asked and his French accent was on point, Jae noticed. Brian chuckled “This is not France in the 1700s, Jae.”

“You never know when you’ll find a policeman like Javert, man.” Jae said shaking his head “This is a crazy world we live in. The cop might think I looked like I needed to spend time in jail and do something shady to get my ass arrested.”

“It would be _me_ getting arrested, though.” Brian reminded him with a chuckle and Jae squinted at him, huffing. _This damn guy_.

“You wouldn’t go to jail alone, you idiot. What d’you think I am? I ain’t a deserter.” Jae declared dramatically after he’d finished slurping on his pasta and had grabbed the now cold toast.

“I wouldn’t let a friend of mine go to jail, if I could prevent it.” Brian said and it was so clear that he meant it,  that Jae felt the pang that had shut him up the previous day hit him again. This time he could do it though.

“So noble.” Jae chuckled, shaking his head “Still wouldn’t let you. I would say your whole name and your sister’s name if I had to, just to prevent you from lying for my sake.”

“I don’t have a sister.” Brian told him with a cheeky grin and Jae dismissed that piece of info by shaking his head.

“Irrelevant.”

“And you would probably not even remember my name.” Brian grinned and Jae scoffed feeling extremely offended. How _dared_ he? After months and months of lingering looks and stolen glances? It would probably be the first thing he said if he woke up from a coma, _honestly._

“Brian Kang?” Jae scoffed and Brain gave him a look that seemed to said ‘ _knew it’_.

“That’s not the name I have on my ID. I would say you’re insane and that I didn’t know any Brian.” He shrugged as he slurped on his pasta and Jae frowned when he remembered.

“Kang Younghyun?” He snubbed his nose with a raised eyebrow. Brian looked clearly defeated as he sighed with a chuckle. Ah, take that, Brian Kang _Younghyun (_ you thought Jae wouldn’t know all your names? _Think again.)_

“But do you know the _hanja_ for it?” Brian asked with a grin and Jae scoffed. No, he did not, but he barely knew _hanja_ at all so he could use that in his favour to win that argument.

“Bro, I barely know the _hanja_ for mine. That’s not relevant. We mostly got rid of that stuff, and _thank God_ for that.” He added with a scoff (he would have died, if he’d had to learn that stuff). Brian still wasn’t done with that, apparently, and was going _straight_ for the heart.

“Alright, fair. But like you said” Brian continued taking a bite of his piece of toast with a smile “you’re too beautiful to go jail, so I wouldn’t let you.” He said mildly.

Jae almost choked on his toast and saw Brian chuckle and look up at him from his plate.

“ _We are_ ” Jae corrected squinting at him “I said that _we_ are too beautiful to go to jail. And I’d-I’d rather none of us did, to be honest.” He said, trying to avert the subject.

Brian chuckled and looked up at him. Jae felt his heart race _a little bit_ at it.

Jae was a trained actor, though. He got this.

“Is it hard for you to take compliments?” Brian asked with a soft, slightly disheartened-looking smile.

_He got this._

“I can take compliments.” Jae declared, slightly louder than he’d intended, but the tone was acceptable “Besides, it was _me_ saying we were too beautiful to go to jail, so it is rather clear that I think I am beautiful, thank you very much.” He said with a smug little smile before he sniffled and went for it as he shoved more food in his mouth “I also think you’re beautiful by the way.”

Brian grinned at him and Jae saw his cheeks get slightly pink.

“I just realised that it’s actually somewhat embarrassing to hear it.” He said with a grin, taking a hand to the left side of his chest “It made my heart race a little. But I like to hear that.” He shrugged with a smile “Thank you, Jae.”

The ease with which he’d admitted that made Jae almost backflip into the fridge.

Well, to be fair, Jae had also kind of admitted that he made his heart race but he’d been a lot more dramatic about it, so it couldn’t even compare to this boy, grinning and touching his chest, telling him that his heart had raced a little.

_Ay, corazón._

Jae was feeling like he was sinking deeper and deeper every time he talked with Brian but he didn’t feel like running away from his feelings anymore. He was done being a chicken and no matter how badly that could end, if his crush turned into something more serious, he would just take it and accept it no matter how badly it could hurt.

Life was like that, man.

Brian had gotten quiet, having already finished his pasta (after they’d gone for seconds and emptied the pot) and was casually finishing his toast as he looked over Jae’s head.

It was something Jae had already noticed he often did, actually. He would be talking but then he would suddenly fall silent, seemingly lost in thought. He was talkative for sure, Jae had picked that up in the three (3) days they’d been hanging out with each other, but then this happened. He seemed like he was snatched away to somewhere really far. Jae was kind of curious.

“What’s up?”

Brian blinked at him focusing his attention again and smiling.

“Pardon?”

Jae snorted.

“It’s something I’ve noticed you do” he confessed with a snort “you’re talking and then you suddenly shut up for no apparent reason.”

Brian looked at him, in silence, again, yet still smiling a little.

“I’m sorry about that.” He finally said a sigh “I guess I get distracted easily with my own thoughts.”

Jae almost, _almost_ , asked if he could know what those thoughts were but he didn’t. Respect, man.

“Maybe that’s why you pass the image of a brooding person, bro.” Jae said playfully and Brian looked at him as he chased the rest of the toast with some water. He chortled a little before shrugging.

“Please let me know when it happens, if it bothers you.” he asked with a small, slightly disheartened-looking smile (Jae really wanted to backflip into the damn fridge).

“I can live with that, don’t sweat it.” Jae assured with a mild smile that he regretted when he saw Brian’s soft smile and it hit him that those smiles didn’t really work on his face “Right. I see that you’re also done with your food. Let me take that.” He said, clearing his throat and standing up, collecting the plates and the other stuff and taking them to the sink. Brian stood up right after and walked towards the sink.

“Let me do that, please.”

“Beat it” Jae said dramatically already rolling up the sleeves of his shirt “ _nuh-uh_ , I’ll do the dishes. Be a good boy and sit down, it won’t take too long.”

(Jae just really needed something to do with his hands to get his head off his frustration.)

“But you cooked!” Brian protested with a huff “It’s fair that I do the dishes.”

“It’s fair that you sit your butt on that chair and don’t complain.” Jae countered pointedly “My kitchen, my rules. Sit down.” He pointed the chair.

“Alright.” Brian breathed heavily but he did as he was told.

 

 

There was so much stuff in that damn sink though. Jae clicked his tongue and huffed as he removed the mouldy plates and cutlery from it and put them aside. He felt like chucking them in the damn bin, but that would have been a challenging task, considering the amount of rubbish in it.

“Shit, man!” He complained as he finally chucked the plates, glasses and the pot he’d used in the soapy water of the sink. _Bad idea._ It splashed everywhere, including his shirt and face and he regretted it immediately. He angrily took off his fake glasses and put them in his breast pocket before as he rubbed the water off his face with his shoulder “These nasty assholes! Does it hurt to clean up after yourself!? _Honestly_.”

Brian chuckled behind him.

“I feel that. I used to wash the dirty dishes in the sink at the beginning because they made me feel uncomfortable” he sighed heavily “but I realised that it only made everyone stop washing their stuff.”

Jae snorted looking back at him over his shoulder. He saw Brian look up at him and suddenly smile when their eyes met. He remembered that he’d taken off his frames and looked back at the sink.

“It was a given, man” he said offhandedly “of course they would just stop doing their dishes, knowing that some _dork_ was doing them for them. _Dorms,_ bro.”

“Yes, you’re right. I learnt it the hard way. I was so mad!” He said and he did sound upset, still “I left a note on the wall saying _‘I feel sorry for your mothers for having raised such disgusting kids!_ ’ and signed it as ‘ _the guy who’s been washing the dirty things you leave in the sink’_.”

Jae threw his head back laughing out loud.

“So passive-aggressive, bro!” He exclaimed and Brian chortled.

“Well, what else could I do? I didn’t know who’d done it! I just know it was more than one person.”

Jae laughed heartily.

(It was somewhat relieving to know that _radiant Brian_ also got mad at petty things like the rest of the mortals. )

“I started washing only my stuff from then on and whatever I needed when it was dirty. It still annoys me a lot, though.” Brian added after a moment and Jae almost dropped the pot in the water again when he realised that Brian had gotten up and was now leaning onto the counter where Jae had put the dirty dishes, right beside the sink, looking at him. He’d put his fake glasses in his pocket.

It took him a great amount of self-restraint to avoid looking away or tell him to sit back down.

_(God, why art thou testing me?)._

“Did you also empty the bins for them?” Jae chuckled and noticed Brian shake his head and glance the bins in that kitchen.

“No way, too nasty!” Brian scoffed “I do knock on their doors to kindly remind them when it’s their turn to empty the bins and they don’t do it though.” He said and Jae chortled, looking down before blowing his fringe off his eyes.

 _Holy shit._ Maybe not _that_ passive.

Maybe Jae was the passive one, because he always ended up taking a shitload of bags outside when it was his turn and never complained about it.

“I bet they love you for that!”

“Oh, I don’t care!” Brian smiled, almost evilly ( _Madre de Dios)_ “Let them hate me. I know I’m right.”

_‘Let them hate me.’_

_Boy._

Jae chuckled and licked his lips, trying to avoid his eyes without it being too obvious that he was doing it.

“I would have never imagined that you would actually go and call them out.” Jae chuckled, honestly but then he stopped a little, musing “Well, I guess that it fits. I literally saw you run after a van to run away from the law.” He joked and Brian threw his head back laughing.

“It’s like you said, _never judge a book by its cover_.” He said with a shrug “I guess you don’t do that.” He snorted and Jae sighed, shaking his head. _Hell no_ , he didn’t.

“I don’t want to make enemies, man! Not trusting these people. They may poison my food.”

“They wouldn’t dare.” Brian scoffed deridingly “They’re too cowardly for that.”

Jae glanced over at him and suddenly felt even more self-conscious.

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked clearly noticing the uncertainty on Jae’s smile. _Shit._ At least he hadn’t stopped washing what he was doing. Points for him.

“Nothing, it’s just funny.” He chuckled clearing his throat and squeezing more wash-up liquid onto the sponge before going for the pot, which would require some actual rubbing because the sponge was shit and the liquid was also shit and they didn’t have a scrub. He rubbed it aggressively.

Brian fell silent for a couple seconds before chuckling.

“You’re really confusing.” He told him and Jae snorted, shaking his head.

 _‘And your honesty is really too much to handle’_ Jae thought but didn’t say.

Jae dramatically looked at him.

“It’s part of the charm. Nobody knows this, but I’m actually a very mysterious person. Full of secrets.” Jae told him in faux seriousness before he angrily finished rubbing the pot clean.

“I don’t doubt that.” Brian said and it sounded like he was serious. Jae looked at him hoping that the what he felt wouldn’t show on his damn face. It was the absence of his frames. He felt so bloody exposed without them. Especially in _those_ circumstances.

(Brian Kang, _stop. Please.)_

“I was joking, man. We really have a lot of getting to know each other to do.” He shook his head with a scoff but Brian fell silent again as Jae drained the sink after finishing washing the pot and put it in the dish drainer. He shook his wet fingers onto Brian’s face who shut his eyes and chuckled “Gotcha!” Jae grinned.

While Brian was wiping the water with his hands (it was a distraction, _yes_ , perhaps also a little bit of revenge, he wouldn’t lie). Jae pulled his frames from his breast pocket and put them back on. It was like a magic spell. He immediately felt less anxious.

But of course, Brian wouldn’t let him live. ( _Why would he_?)

“Really, why do you wear those frames when you wear contacts?”

_(Please.)_

“I told you, it’s for the hipster look.” Jae snorted dismissively getting the dishcloth and wiping his hands “It’s style, man, _style_.”

“Okay, fair, but when I said you looked cute without them” Brian reminded him and Jae almost cried “you told me I was high.”

“How do you even remember that, man?” He asked coolly yet wanting to choke himself with the kitchen sponge.

“My memory is quite good.” Brian smiled at him, clearly waiting for him to address the subject he’d raised. But Jae didn’t want to do that and he wasn’t going to. He didn’t feel comfortable exposing his bloody insecurities to this guy just like that (he already had a feeling he thought he was a coward, he wouldn’t let him get any more negative opinions of him).

“I know I’m cute, Brian. I have loads of people tell me that daily, thank you.” Jae said airily with a smile and Brian chuckled up at him and Jae almost sighed in relief _(get him his damn Oscar already)._

“A mirror would be enough to let you know that though.” Brian said both amused and serious and he didn’t say anything else and it killed Jae a little.

“Shut up.” He snorted flicking his forehead with his fingers and making him chuckle and look up at him with a smile, bringing his hand to his forehead.

“I mean it though.”

“Alright.” Jae snorted, shaking his head.

 

 

That did nothing (0, _nada_ ) to squash the hope he felt growing steadily in his spirit.

When his interest in Brian and his general existence had become a crush _(in the craziest possible way, mind, not even going to deny that),_ Jae had thought that it wouldn’t go past that.

_Oh, how naïve he’d been._

He couldn’t help feeling _somewhat_ anxious because of it.

Sure, he’d had crushes on guys before, but it had never gone past that. Plus, he didn’t even fucking know if Brian swung that way. As far as he knew, that was literally just his personality; he liked to say pleasant things to people when he felt them because he was honest and gentle (despite being daring and intense, something that was _dangerously_ attractive to him).

Still, to people who had crushes on him, being so soft and gentle, wasn’t good at all, because it filled them with _hope_.

Jae was starting to understand why the girls who tried to chat him up didn’t linger around him for too long. It wasn’t just because his smile was too beautiful, it was because he didn’t keep any of the pleasant things to himself and they either thought he was lying or got scared.

However, Jae was too damn old to keep running away. Not talking to him for so damn long had already been immature enough. Jae was ready to suffer the eventual consequences of whatever came from that dangerous crush and, if stuff ultimately went south between them, he would just take it like an adult.

 

 

“Okay, bro. Not to make light of how nice you are, but we should get going.” He said “I think I may take the bus today. I don’t have an umbrella and they don’t seem to have the dollar store in here.” He sighed dramatically and Brian chuckled.

“Dollar store umbrellas sound very sturdy!” He joked and Jae raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

“Excuse _you_.” He defended “The last one I got from them lasted me for two years. I brought it over from the US and I still used it here.”

Brian showed him his palms in a placating manner with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry then, I didn’t want to offend the budget umbrellas!”

Jae looked round the kitchen again still feeling his heart race despite his cool front.

He wasn’t just looking around like an idiot, he was forgetting something, he was sure of that.

“Apology accepted.” Jae declared, still looking around and frowning. Brian didn’t seem to notice his look because he was looking at his wristwatch.

“You’re right. We should hurry, hy- _Jae_ , sorry.” He chuckled and Jae momentarily forgot about _the thing he was forgetting_ because of Brian’s cute blunder, almost calling him _hyung_ in English “I just have to go to my room to get my stuff. We can go through the South door. The bus stop is close to it.”

Jae winked and grinned before he patted his back, gesturing the door.

“Alright. Let’s pass by mine on the way there. I need to get my stuff as well.”

Brian nodded with a smile before falling silent as Jae opened the door.

Jae completely forgot about his impression of forgetting something when they walked into his corridor.

* * *

 

Well, Jae didn’t tell Brian that he was _brooding_ so Brian didn’t stop doing it during their entire walk.

(The _brooding_ / _threatening_ bit was unintentional, really, he had no control of his facial expression when he was distracted and instead of looking silly, like most people, he looked like he was ready to snap the neck of whoever tried to talk to him.)

 

 

Brian was confused.

If he could name what he was feeling, that was. He didn’t know what he was feeling, really. It was 100% honest when he told Jae that he confused him. He really did and Brian wasn’t exactly used to that (at least not to that extent, he wasn’t).

Jae had complained about him scaring him the previous day but then, on this new day, he’d offered to share his lunch with him (and it had been a great lunch, mind, Brian was delighted that he’d decided to share, not only because it meant not cooking).

Thinking back to the previous day, and their impromptu concert with Park Sungjin (which had had Brian lie awake for a long time, grinning in the dark and given him the most pleasant dreams), he could still see Jae performing clearly in his spirit. Intense and confident yet soft and charming. Brian had seen him play before, obviously, but never like that.

It’d pretty much blown him away.

He’d looked almost ethereal, smiling under the electric lights of the evening.

That had only made Brian feel more confused, later, when he thought about it. Jae wasn’t two-faced, he knew that, they’d been honest with one another, but he clearly wasn’t _just_ what he seemed to be either.

The curiosity was too much to handle.

It obviously hadn’t started three days earlier.

Like he’d said, he’d noticed Jae’s lingering looks a long time ago. However, at first, he’d thought it was just a coincidence. But after a while he’d gotten curious, which led him to pay more attention and had him finally realise that it couldn’t be a coincidence, especially with how quickly Jae looked away when he saw him looking.

_Why does he do that?_

That was Brian’s first thought when it hit him that Jae was in fact looking at him and pretending not to be. He thought about coming up to him several times but how awkward would it have been to just go like,

‘ _Hey, I saw you looking at me, what’s up_?’

_Yeah._

He was glad that he’d been late for lunch three days before, because otherwise he wouldn’t have asked to join them at their table ( _yes_ , because he also thought he would be disturbing them, since he genuinely thought they were dating). It clearly had gone way better than expected and he still couldn’t believe how easy it’d been to befriend Jae, Jimin and the rest of their squad.

When Jimin had said that he had a _brooding look_ about him that kept people away and seeing that Jae didn’t deny it, he’d legitimately thought it was because of that that he hadn’t talked to him sooner. Was that why he hadn’t made many friends in there? Because, _really,_ his only friends were the people in the South Wing (the ones that emptied the bins when it was their turn, of course, because Brian had _high standards_ for his friends) with whom he had a close relationship, because they could see how easy-going he actually was from their floor hang-outs.

Jae had told him that ‘ _he thought’_ that it hadn’t been because of that that he hadn’t gone and talked to him sooner, but Brian was still willing to believe that it was because of that. He was resolved to make everyone, especially Jae and his new friends, understand that he wasn’t a broody person like they’d apparently thought for so long.

 _Well,_ he had the distinct impression that Jae already a different impression of him, but he wasn’t too sure if that was a good thing or not because it was the impression that he was crazy. Sure, he wouldn’t deny that he was kind of reckless sometimes but he couldn’t help it. He simply couldn’t resist curiosity. _Consequences_ was a concept that barely crossed his mind when he decided to do something he thought could be fun.

It had been the first time he’d committed an actual crime though and, he wouldn’t lie, he’d enjoyed the adrenaline despite how scared he’d felt at first. And no, he didn’t blame Jae for it, because it had been him to tell him that they should try it. He’d felt like such an asshole afterwards, seeing how terrified Jae had looked on Sungjin’s miraculous van, calling desperately after him.

 _Curiosity._ That was his problem.

Jae was making him curious in a way he couldn’t remember somebody doing before.

He seemed to be the joking, flamboyant type, but then he was serious and worried about people. He seemed confident and almost cocky, but then he looked uncertain and insecure. Brian had pointed out, almost revengefully, that he joked his way out of tough situations and Jae hadn’t denied it.

Brian _definitely_ preferred it when Jae was smiling and laughing and telling jokes but if he was doing it to hide something, then it wasn’t that good.

The confusion was genuinely driving him mad.

He really didn’t know what else to call what he was feeling and no matter how much he wrote about it (he’d written an _awful lot_ of poems about it already, that’s how bad it was), he couldn’t understand what was happening, why Jae was confusing him so much, why he felt his heart race a little when he smiled at him, why his company and his attention made him feel so happy.

 

 

“You really like this stuff, don’t you?” Jae commented when they were already in his room. Brian hadn’t noticed that he’d been silent the entire time since they’d gone to Jae’s room and all the way over to the South Wing at all. He had even opened his room’s door without realising. He blinked up at Jae, feeling like he’d just woken up.

“Uh...pardon?”

Jae chuckled and pointed at the books on Brian’s desk.

“Poetry.”

“Oh. Yes, sorry. You should have told me I was distracted!”

Jae chortled and Brian was relieved to see that he wasn’t annoyed. That was a thing he liked about Jae from what he’d seen of him. He seemed to never make a fuss out of insignificant things and tried to kick trouble away as hard as he could.

“It’s alright, bro.” He said to him, smiling and shaking his head “I respect the deep silent thoughts of great poet Brian Kang.” He nodded gravely and Brian couldn’t help laughing despite feeling his heart beat faster.

He wasn’t a great poet. Jae should see the notebooks he kept with the poems he’d written throughout the years. Some of them were so awful, you couldn’t help laughing.

“I’m not a great poet.” He shook his head before he got his umbrella and a raincoat. He heard Jae scoff behind his back and looked at him noticing his raised eyebrow.

“Sure thing, man. Someone who’s dead tired and manages to come up with flawless rhymes in a language that’s not even his native. _Definitely_ not a great poet.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes “Who is it that can’t take compliments now?” Jae grinned with a little wink. Brian felt seriously flattered.

“Thank you.” He said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging “But I really think I’m just average.”

“Like the ‘ _average_ guy from Busan’?” Jae teased with a chuckle and Brian chortled, remembering what Sungjin had told them the night they’d met.

“Park Sungjin seems not to be aware of how talented he actually is.” Brian said, shaking his head as he remembered how frustrating it’d been “Did you see how he was always dodging our compliments!?”

“I know!” Jae exclaimed pointing at him “Most of the people watching were clearly there just to watch him perform! It wasn’t at all like when I did it. There were five people watching or something!” Jae snorted shaking his head and Brian looked up at him.

“It was the first time you did it” he told him with little smile “Park Sungjin already has a regular public because he does it often, like he told us. Dowoon and the others even knew when he would be there.”

Jae sighed before he smiled at him.

“Brian, I was just comparing for the sake of making my point, I’m quite confident in my skills, thank you.” Jae said very patronisingly and Brian chuckled. It felt honest so Brian didn’t insist.

“I’m sorry, I was just making sure.” He shrugged before he grabbed his messenger bag and flung it over his shoulder before he remembered that Jae had asked about his poetry collection and he kind of couldn’t stop the urge to talk _just a little_ more about it “Do you also like poetry?”

Jae hummed glancing at the books before he chuckled.

“I’ve never read much, only read it for English class. I’ve never had a teacher who was a poetry enthusiast, to be honest, so it never really caught my attention.” Jae told him “I’ve never even heard of most of these poets.”

“I can lend you some, if you want.” Brian could hardly contain how happy the prospect made him because literally none of his other friends gave a rat’s ass about poetry and people on the internet who liked poetry were often so hard to talk to that he had given up on them.

Jae looked at him with an unreadable look that had Brian _almost_ ask him what he was thinking. He had seen it before, but he had no idea why it happened or what it meant.

Maybe he wasn’t interested, Brian thought feeling slightly bummed.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” Jae told him with a small smile and Brian felt his heart race “I’m kind of curious. Who’s Fred Wah?” He asked tilting his head to read the name. Brian could hardly contain his enthusiasm.

“He’s a…a Canadian poet.” Brian told him, stammering a little “He’s really good! His dad was half-Chinese and his mum was born in Sweden and he-he writes a lot about stuff like ethnicity and Canada. He’s one of my favourite Canadian poets.” He grabbed the book from the middle of stack and pulled it out “I think you’d like this… I mean” he pursed his lips looking at Jae’s smiling face, that gave him the confidence he needed “if you don’t like poetry at all, you’ll probably not like it but…” He saw Jae snort and shake his head.

“Just let me have the damn book, you nerd. Jesus!” Jae chortled pulling the book from his hands which made him chuckle and fall silent looking expectantly at him “Plus, it’s in English, so no problem at all.” He added after flicking through the pages “I’ll tell you what I thought about it when I’m done with it.” He opened his own messenger bag and put it inside before closing it again.

Brian was so happy about that, that he feared that he would annoy Jae if he kept talking about it but Jae seemed to read his thoughts.

(He just wanted to share his interest with him, half because he never got the chance to talk about poetry, half because he hoped that he could eventually learn more about Jae by sharing his personal interests with him.)

“We really gotta go now. Tell me more about it on our trip to school. About poetry, I mean. I’m a shameful noob.” Jae requested with a soft smile that made Brian’s heart throb for some reason or another. Brian couldn’t hide how delighted he felt.

“I’m sorry about my face!” He said unable to stop grinning “I hardly ever get the chance to talk about it and people always think that poetry is either boring or something that some pretentious people do. Well, it’s not a lie in some cases…”He sighed and he heard Jae snort.

“ _’Sorry about my face’_ ” he repeated shaking his head “you should really hear yourself sometimes, man.”

Brian guffawed, unable to contain it (a great title for his next poem, to be honest).

“Sorry!” Brian chuckled, covering his warming face with his hand and Jae groaned “I mean, it must look really silly.”

“You apologising is what’s silly.” Jae complained, patting his back. It was comforting gesture, Brian found. He looked at him and saw him shake his head with pursed lips “Go wild, man. Unleash the culture. I really want to know more about this.”

Brian was more than happy to comply.

* * *

 

Jae wasn’t at all ready for the rollercoaster of emotions that would arise from that.

In a way, he thought that he should have been expecting it, especially considering the enlightening experience in the delightful D-floor kitchen, with the soft stench of rotten rubbish in the air mixed with the lemony scent of the wash-up liquid.

He learnt that Brian wrote poetry. _An embarrassing amount of it_ , in his own words, and had been writing for ages. His older stuff was so awful that it was funny, he’d told him.

“Do lyrics count as poems?” Jae had chuckled when Brian had said that he also wrote lyrics and turned some of his poems into lyrics and told him that his favourite Canadian poet was actually Leonard Cohen. Brian hummed thoughtfully.

“I think so.” He said with a nod “I mean, they have stanzas and verses, so I guess they do.”

“I’ve written a couple lyrics.” Jae chuckled looking at him “Does that make me a poet as well?”

Brian grinned looking very pleased indeed. It was a wonderful sight.

“If you want to be labelled as such, yes, I guess it does.” Brian smiled and Jae chortled.

Though it was mostly to see what kind of stuff Brian read, it hadn’t been _just_ because Brian had looked so enthused about poetry that he’d accepted his offer. He wasn’t lying, he _was_ curious (especially now that he’d found out that he was also a poet.

 _Jae, the Poet_.)

He got a lot more than he’d bargained for.

Brian read one of the poems in the book Jae would borrow aloud during their bus trip to show him what he meant about the pauses and the silence being an integral part of a poem.

His voice was little more than a deep whisper.

The soft trundling of the bus mixed with the sound of the rain hitting the glass windows and Brian softly reciting poetry in his ear made Jae feel like he was in some sort of indie music video, where nobody was actually singing and instead of a soft grunge filter, they had HD colours and you could feel the rich smell of rain and cologne.

It was weird, the feeling, because he felt his heart beat fast in his chest, but the sound of Brian’s low, smiling voice made him feel like he was being wrapped up in a warm blanket. He couldn’t help leaning onto him to listen better.

He decided that he liked poetry and it wasn’t _just_ because of Brian and the way he read it. The poem seemed to resonate in his mind and made him think about stuff he couldn’t understand, about stuff he didn’t even know. It evoked imagery for things he’d never seen or felt and he enjoyed that. A _lot._

“What did you think?” He heard Brian ask with a smile in voice and blinked, snapping out of his momentary trance.

“I don’t know what to say.” He chuckled, glancing at him “It’s a really weird feeling, it just… bro, it’s mind-blowing. I liked it a lot.” He saw how Brian’s face illuminated and wanted to die a little “I think I get what you mean about the silence and the pauses…” His mind worked quickly as he thought about where the voice recording app was in his list and casually sneaked his hand down his pocket, unlocked his phone and slid around for a bit before going for it and tapping. Let _fate_ decide if he deserved to listen to this again or not.

“Will it be too much if I ask you to read me another one?” He smiled hesitantly and Brian straight up looked like there would be nothing on Earth he’d like to do more than that.

“Of course not.” Brian smiled softly and flicked through the pages of the book until he found another dogear and skimmed through the poem before he cleared his throat and started reciting it in same, soft, deep voice, barely above a whisper.

**“What to do when you get there**

 

_travel_

_when you get there_

_get into a corner or something_

_take the 90 degree horizon_

_and with what you still carry from your trip_

_put it together privately_

_to the others talk_

_tell each other of events since last together_

_what you’re going to do tomorrow, etc._

_laugh a little bit at the perspective_

_its large_

_and when things rise in you like this_

_come to the surface with a force of their own_

_then let them_

_sit in the warmth_

_be in the middle of the large”_

 

_‘Let them.’_

Jae would.

He was already laughing a little at the perspective.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *softly* poison dart frog


	6. Road Rage with Baek Yerin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> «I fell for Brian on the bus to school today »

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here it goes again lmao another chapter of this thing and it's again a mess but i have been told that that is alright, so it is alright lol  
> In this chapter: Jae is still suffering but a little less, there are bad puns and bad jokes again, and there is some quality bonding time with Baek Yerin
> 
> And, because this chapter also got too damn long (over 10k lmao) I decided to slice it in half as well /cries/ i don't have internet at home, so here go the two slices at once /sweats loudly/
> 
> i hope you enjoy this stuff. by e

* * *

 

**Jae**

**«I fell for Brian on the bus to school today »**

**Jimin**

_«Holy shit »_

_«You, on a bus! »_

**«acknowledge my pain, James »**

_«right, you’re into Brian, what’s new »_

**«disowned »**

_«okayyy, so u fell for him on the bus to school »_

_«what happened? »_

**«firstably, so rude »**

**«and secondably, I was going to make the joke of a lifetime but u ruined it »**

**«im so upset rn »**

_«ur such a nerd jesus »_

**«u were supposed to ask how i’d fallen for him »**

**«and I would reply ‘i tried to help him and almost smashed my face against the floor’ »**

**«and u would be like ‘WHAT?? THAT IS SO DANGEROUS, JAE DEAR, ARE U ALRIGHT?’**

**«and I would say ‘yes, my dear Jimin, I am fine. I only got a bit wet. Nothing to be worried about’ »**

_«bro »_

_«have u been smoking pot again? »_

_«wtf are u talking about »_

**«my knees hurt »**

**«Brian was saved by two ladies at the bus stop lmao »**

_«dude, im in class, we’ll talk later »_

* * *

 

It had happened very fast.

They’d almost missed their stop because they were distracted and had to run out of the bus. Brian had slipped on the way out because of the wet floor, Jae had tried to help him by stretching his arm in front of him but Brian clutched onto it and lost balance anyway dragging Jae down with him. The rest was the rest.

They only had guitar tutoring that afternoon so it was relatively easy for Jae to casually think about his escapade with Brian on the bus while the others showed the tutor their homework.

Brian’s laughing wet face, ignoring the fact that there were two ladies holding him and worrying about his well-being when he looked over at Jae and saw him kneeling under the bus stop, with his hands together, thanking God for not having broken his hands or his face before he stood up. Brian had apologised for making him fall _(ah)_ and asked him about how his knees were doing. _Just about_ , Jae had told him. Nothing serious. It would probably bruise but it was alright. It would have been worse.

Jae was still having a hard time not laughing.

_(And he was quite sure that Brian would end up causing his demise but at this point he was kind of ready to go and meet his Creator.)_

“Jae” he heard someone call and looked to the side to see that it was Mark, a guy who also spoke English but lived in a different dorm “I saw your post on Instagram yesterday. You know Park Sungjin?”

Jae airily shrugged his shoulders and looked at the guitar in his hands, trying to stifle his snickering. Brian wasn’t helping because 95% of his face expressed ‘ _serious guitarist_ ’ and the other 5% ( _his eyes_ ) looked like he wanted to smile.

“You can say that.”

Mark looked visibly impressed.

“If this man hears about it, he’s gonna flip it…” He gestured towards the tutor who was currently chewing a guy out for clearly not having done his homework, which consisted of practicing one song and playing it in class (that’s why Jae had had the chance to text for a bit. _Judge him_.) “...more than he already is flipping it... homeboy kind of had it coming though...” Jae hissed pursing his lips and nodding.

“This world is ruthless!” The tutor yelled at the guy who looked like he wanted to become one with the guitar he was clutching in his hands “You know how many people want to become musicians!? You have to work twice as hard as everyone else in this world and you” he pointed at him“are not doing _shit_!” He actually swore and some people gasped, he looked wildly around at the rest of the group “This goes for all of you! If you don’t work hard, no matter how _fucking_ talented you may be, you’ll get nowhere!”

Everyone fell silent. It was really awful to see this man so angry.

“I’m not saying it’s all of you” the tutor breathed clearly trying to regain his composure “I can see a great amount of talent _and_ hard-work in this group, but when some people come here thinking that this is _a joke_ ” he spat “that if you can play a couple of love songs, you’ll be a star, then I have some news for you. _You won’t._ You’ll be _nobody_. _Nobody_ will fucking know you and you will _never_ be anything other than a _mediocre_ musician like so many out there!”

He breathed heavily again before shaking his head.

“Everyone in this room is an adult and I would expect everyone to behave as such.” He said pointedly “You have responsibilities, this is what you want to be doing for a living. It’s disrespectful to come here without having properly practiced the _one piece”_ he showed them his index finger and shook it _“_ you were told to, _one week ago_ , because it shows that you’re a cocky little bastard who thinks that you can trick your tutor, who’s been teaching for over 20 years!” He exclaimed with a scoff before he shook his head “I have seen so many talented and hard-working kids disappear into thin air and never be heard of again...” His tone softened a little but it became bitter and he huffed.

Brian had clearly had an idea and was willing to take one for the team.

“Excuse me to interrupt, Kim Wonho-ssi…” Brian said, raising his hand. The tutor looked back at him as did everyone, looking at him as if he was out of his mind “I think that you would like to know that Park Sungjin-hyung is still around and playing.”

It worked like a charm. Jae almost congratulated him on his fast thinking. The man seemed to have heard the best piece of news of his entire life.

“Park Sungjin? Are you sure, Brian?”

“Yes, sir, very sure. He remembers you.” He said with a nod and a smile “ _We_ ” he gestured towards Jae who smiled at the tutor as well, feeling emboldened by his improved mood “met him yesterday and played with him.”

The man looked at them like they were the Messiah reborn.

“He’s…he’s still playing?” The tutor looked like he was on the verge of tears judging by the glint in his eyes “He didn’t stop?”

“I w-was there yesterday…” Another guy barged into the talk and pulled out his phone before tapping wildly for a moment “I was there yesterday and I filmed it…”

Brian and Jae looked at one another in surprise. They had no idea that someone had recorded it and let alone that it’d been someone from their group. The tutor stomped towards him and he awkwardly pointed the screen of his phone towards him after hitting play.

Not ten seconds in the tutor was bawling like a baby, literally sobbing, soaking the collar of his shirt. That wasn’t even _favouritism_ , it looked like pure _love._

“P-please let me have this video!” He requested walking over to his desk to get his phone from his bag. Their colleague did with a little awkward smile on his face and the tutor looked back at Jae and Brian who had fallen very silent. Hearing the replay of their performance from the previous night was an eerie experience. It sounded so weird to listen to themselves like that, as a group, singing and having fun with everyone.

However, it also made it feel more real.

The blunders were rather noticeable for a trained ear, but like Kevin and Jimin had pointed out, it had been great for something that had been completely spontaneous.

“Did you plan this concert, boys?”

Brian shook his head and smiled, somewhat sheepishly, blushing a little.

“We’d met Park Sungjin-hyung on Tuesday…and he told us that he did some busking sometimes…our friends knew when he’d be there so we decided to go see for ourselves and ended up joining him.”

The tutor looked from him to Jae in silence before sighing deeply.

“I’m so proud.” He said, wiping the tears off his eyes with the back of his hand “This was amazing for something that wasn’t planned. He’s as fantastic as ever.” He fawned very shamelessly “Who was playing the power chords?”

“I was.” Brian said with a little smile “Jae-hyung was playing the open ones.”

The tutor scrunched his nose at the mention of Jimin’s tutor when Jae was prompted to specify who the other people were and Brian couldn’t provide many details aside from their names.

“And the other two boys?”

“They’re in Im Ji Sung-Seonsaeng‘s group.“ Brian told him and he nodded “They’re Kim Wonpil and Yoon Dowoon, who was doing that brilliant percussion.” He added.

“What was he using for percussion?” He asked, sniffling a little still, and Jae snorted, covering his mouth not to laugh out loud.

“ _Chupa Chups_ tin cans with a jacket on top.” Brian told the tutor with a very proud grin. The man actually snorted a little and so did several of their groupmates, including the blessed boy who’s recorded the moment. Brian pushed the guitar he was using to the side and reached for his messenger bag which he opened before shoving his hand inside it and pulling out a handful of lollipops. Everyone chortled at that, including Jae who couldn’t believe Brian had actually stuffed his bag with lollipops to share around ( _this guy_ ) “We have loads of them because of that” he chuckled “so if anyone wants one…I think there’s enough for everyone. Is that a problem, sir?”

“By all means, Brian!” The tutor said with a quivery chuckle pointing the classroom and Brian stood up and started distributing the lollipops around the classroom, saving one for himself, Jae and the tutor, if he wanted one too “Oh, thanks. I’ll actually take it.” The man said with a smile before looking up at Brian with a pleading look “Please, let Park Sungjin know that he was one of the best students I’ve ever had.” He shook his head.

It gave Jae the chills to hear that and the room became very silent.

“We will, sir.” Jae joined the conversation. The tutor breathed heavily again, shaking his head.

“He’s the perfect example of talent and hard-work.” He said as he popped the lollipop in his mouth and everyone took that as a sign that it was okay to do the same “So are you, boys.” He spoke directly to Jae and Brian who looked a bit surprised “You all worked so well together… this is so rewarding…I need a moment…”

And he looked like was going to cry again as he sucked on the lollipop.

* * *

 

“Kim Wonho-ssi was so mad!” Brian said when the class was over and everyone was walking down the hallway to go home.

“I thought he was going to punch him!” Jae breathed dramatically seeing the poor fellow who’s been chewed out sprint away from the classroom “He’s always so cool, doesn’t even want the proper honorific. I mean... I see where he’s coming from though. It’s kind of disrespectful.”

Brian nodded before he remembered something and chuckled, looking at Jae.

“Did you see his face when you mentioned Jimin’s tutor!?”

Jae guffawed heartily.

“We need to tell her later, she’ll love it!” He said before he changed the subject back to what had been the most relevant moment of that class. Mr Kim Wonho crying over Park Sungjin. “But dude, he actually cried because of Park Sungjin-ssi. I was so shocked!”

“I remembered it when he mentioned talent and hard-work…decided to try it, to see if he would calm down a little.” Brian chuckled “I didn’t expect that at all.”

Jae chortled.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tattooed his name on his arm with a heart around it.” He joked and Brian laughed out loud.

“Like those prison tattoos, but instead of ‘ _MOTHER_ ’ or ‘ _JESUS_ ’ it would read ‘ _PARK SUNGJIN_ ’.” Jae added pointing his own arm for emphasis.

Brian laughed harder and scrunched his nose before he shook his head.

“Those are so awful! But I wouldn’t be surprised to be… oh there’s the guy with the recording!” Brian pointed ahead at their groupmate “Cha Jun Ho-hyung!” He called after him and he looked back, stopping to let them catch up with him “Can I please have the video you recorded yesterday?”

“Sure.” He smiled getting his phone again “Bluetooth?”

“Yes, please.” Brian turned on his Bluetooth and they waited for a moment until it finished sending.

“Thank you.” Brian said with a grin “We didn’t see you at all yesterday, sorry about that.”

“Please, how could’ve you when you were all so focused?” Cha Jun Ho said with a smile “But really, guys, it was awesome. Next time you do it, let me know.”

_Next time._

“No problem.” Jae chimed in, smiling back “What’s your Instagram?”

It felt like they were _daydreaming_ with all the compliments and support they got from their groupmates and especially from their tutor, who’d said he was proud of them.

They also felt rather proud of themselves.

* * *

 

When Jae thought, earlier, that he was forgetting about something he wanted to get from the kitchen, he wasn’t imagining it.

It was only a while later, when Brian told him that he wanted to pop in the cafeteria to grab something to eat that Jae remembered what it was.

_It was a disaster._

“What’s up?” Brian asked seeing him huff and shake his head.

“Aw, man, I forgot my afternoon snacks!” He whined almost adding that it was _his (Brian Kang Younghyun’s)_ damn fault for _stressing_ him “Fuck!” He clicked his tongue and huffed into his hands, trying to think of a solution.

“You don’t have money?” Brian asked.

Jae groaned and ruffled his own hair before huffing.

No, _he did not._

He had almost _yelled_ when he realised that the bakery Jimin had recommended was expensive as all hell. He’d already paid for rent and bought lots of food to keep in the dorm to save money and not waste more than his lunch money in the cafeteria. He’d also run out of shampoo and shower gel, so he had to get those as well. Plus, the bus he’d taken to school that day and the fact that he had to pay for the bus to go home because he didn’t have a boarding pass _or_ an umbrella.

 _(Why had he wasted all the_ extra _money he’d earned the previous day on fricking Starbucks!? What an idiot.)_

“I do…but it’s not…” he started taking both hands to his head and pressing it with a huff “I’m seriously on a budget, Brian. I’m not joking.” He chuckled emotionlessly, letting his arms fall alongside his body and sighing. Brian just shrugged.

“I can buy you something, don’t worry.” He smiled mildly and Jae almost whimpered because he just had the feeling that Brian would say that.

“No way, man!” Jae waved with his hand, frustrated “You already paid for me the other day!” He shook his head and looked at him.

“Well, you can’t just not eat, hyung.” Brian shrugged but he looked dead serious “You can pay me whenever you get the chance, if you don’t feel comfortable with it.”

Jae looked at him in silence, considering his words and the way he’d put it. It was an offer, but it felt like it wasn’t up for discussion and Jae couldn’t say no. Brian was right, also. He would pass the fuck out, if he went all those hours without eating.

“I’ll definitely pay you back, though!” He smiled pointing at him for emphasis and he noticed how Brian’s face brightened up immediately.

(It hit Jae right in the feelings.)

“Don’t worry about it, hyung. You can pay me whenever you can.” He repeated and they went over to the bar to request their food. It felt slightly awkward when Brian said that he would be paying for his and Jae’s meals but Jae tried to be cool with it. He would pay him back eventually, he would _most definitely_ not forget about it.

Jimin joined them some five minutes later looking very surprised indeed when she looked at what Jae was eating.

“You’re really living the life, aren’t you?” She asked playfully.

“Actually, no, Brian paid for this.” He confessed glancing over at Brian who smiled with his mouth full of sandwich “I’ll pay him back though! Won’t forget.” He emphasised looking at Brian who chuckled.

“What happened with your snacks though? You always bring loads of food along.” Jimin asked as she removed the cling film from her own sandwich and took a bite of it. Jae didn’t want to elaborate on the circumstances of the incident.

“Shit happens. Even a genius can make mistakes sometimes, my dear friend. Life is like that.” He said airily with a little sigh and she scoffed rolling her eyes. Brian chuckled looking at him over his sandwich.

(It was _slightly_ concerning that Brian had made him forget about food though.

 _Food_.)

Jimin shook her head before she hummed and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“Brian didn’t hear ‘ _Brokeman_ ’ yesterday.” She snickered as he looked for something on her phone and Jae snorted into his sandwich.

_Brokeman._

“Is that what we’re calling it?”

“Just decided it.”

Brian couldn’t stop laughing with the first song but he praised Jae for how fast he’d come up with an updated version of the song.

“This comes from within, man. These are my feelings.” Jae dramatically echoed their tutor and Brian chortled “ _Brokeman_ is my superhero alias now.”

Brian almost choked on his food but in the meanwhile Jae had started singing ‘ _This Love’_ and he stopped laughing, looking attentively to the video with a smile.

“It was...so good.” He said when the video ended looking up at Jae who shrugged.

“What can I say? I’m good at what I do.” He declared and it was honest. He knew he was good.

“No lies.” Jimin offered with a chuckle and Brian nodded with a close-mouthed smile because his mouth was full of food.

“Oh…” Jimin started and Jae noticed her glancing over at Brian who wasn’t looking at the moment because he was trying to pierce through his milk box with the straw “you told me that you fell on the bus…” she tried and Jae was thankful that she tried so hard to keep it cool. Brian had taken a sip of his milk and almost choked on it when he started laughing.

Jae was an award-deserving actor though so he managed to look wistful and dramatic as he narrated their beautiful and extremely anticlimactic tale to her.

* * *

 

Jae was looking forward to going home but it would take a while for them to achieve that _magnificent_ goal, because the rain had only gotten heavier.

Even though Brian’s umbrella seemed to have been built to resist tornadoes, with the wind blowing hard and the rain coming almost diagonally and hitting their faces, they decided to wait inside the school for it to stop wanting to drown them.

“We could run.” Brian suggested with a sigh as they stood behind the open glass door seeing the sky pretty much pissing on the Earth like a very revengeful colossal dog.

“To trip and fall on my face? _Sure._ No thank you.” Jae complained clicking his tongue, his knees hurt from earlier “If we step outside we’ll be soaked in 10 seconds, man. We can’t get ill, bro. We’re singers.”

Brian nodded, acknowledging his reasons with pursed lips but, well, they were stuck there and the rain didn’t seem to want to stop.

“If we only had those plastic raincoats…” Brian huffed, pursing his lips and Jae snorted looking at him.

“Those things that look like huge condoms?” He chuckled and Brian chortled.

“Don’t make little of them, they’re very useful!” He exclaimed “But yes, they do look like huge condoms.” He nodded acceptingly.

Jae snorted before sighing again, looking dramatically at the merciless rain pouring outside. ( _God, why couldn’t you have waited just five more minutes so that we could run to the bus stop like we did earlier?_ ).

“Hey there, nerds.” They heard Jimin greet them and they turned around to face her “You look upset. What’s wrong?”

Jae gestured pointedly towards the open door through which one could see little more than a white blur from how intensely the rain was pouring. Jimin groaned, looking at her Moomin umbrella. It wouldn’t be able to protect her from that rain. Moomin wasn’t strong enough.

“We’ll get soake-e-ed…” She whimpered “We can’t get ill and lose our voices…”

“Yeah...Dowoon and Wonpil are probably home already. Warm and dry.” Brian sighed shaking his head.

“Kevin too, the lucky bastard.” Jae clicked his tongue “He only has classes in the morning on Thursdays.”

Jimin furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

“If at least one of us had a car…” She grumbled bitterly.

“We would still have to get to the car, wherever it was.” Brian avowed with a chuckle and a sigh “And unless it was right there…” he pointed to the road, where they could actually see a several cars stopped. He mused for a little and on that moment someone walked towards them and greeted him.

“Hello, Brian-oppa.” Brian looked back and saw that it was Yerin.

“Oh, hi, Yerin.” He greeted with a smile that turned into a grin “I was just thinking about you!”

She smiled in confusion as Jae exchanged a quick glance with Jimin.

“Did you drive your car to school today?” Brian asked and Yerin chuckled.

“Yes, I did. I always do when it’s raining. My car is right there.” She told him, pointing ahead, before looking from him to Jae and Jimin who looked rather puzzled “Would you like me to give you a ride home?”

Jae pressed his hands together as if in prayer and nodded. Jimin immediately bowed her head.

“That would be great, Yerin!” Brian bowed as well “Thanks a lot!”

_(God, I apologise for doubting your ways, you knew what you were doing, as always)._

“Bless you, Baek Yerin.”

Yerin giggled at the dramatic phrase.

Jae couldn’t really judge Jimin for looking so keyed up about the idea because he had still not fully recovered from his and Brian’s bus adventures (and he hoped that he’d actually recorded the fateful poem, because otherwise it was _biphobic_ and he would have to contact Samsung to call them out).

* * *

 

“Jimin has to take the passenger seat because she gets sick in the back. Really awful! 11/10 would not recommend.” Jae declared dramatically when Yerin finally joined then at the door and they all sprinted to her car, trying to protect their heads and chests with the umbrellas they had. It was close enough, as she’d told Brian, so they mostly got wet on the legs, which wasn’t too bad.

“Yeah, sorry about that…” Jimin smiled sheepishly.

_(Thank me later, James.)_

“No problem at all!” Yerin said with a smile looking at Jimin who smiled back (Jae was impressed at how well she was dealing with it despite her flushed cheeks) “Please, buckle up, everyone.” Yerin told them and they all did as they were told.

“Safety first!” Jae exclaimed with a grin and everyone chuckled.

“True.” Brian nodded before he turned to Yerin “Thanks again for giving us a ride, Yerin.”

“Please, Brian-oppa, you’re always doing nice things for me, it’s nothing. We’re all going the same way anyway!” She said with a grin as she turned on the car and drove out of the parking place. Her car was a silver Hyundai i20 with automatic transmission (unlike Sungjin and his _shady_ red van with a dodgy manual gearbox, that now that Jae thought about it, he didn’t even know what brand it was). Like Sungjin she was also a very focused driver.

It had gotten silent and Jae decided to do something about it.

“Speaking about seatbelts” he said conversationally “Once I saw a post on the internet about people getting shirts that had a stripe that looked like a seatbelt because they didn’t want to use the seatbelt. Can you believe?”

“ _What?_ For real!?” Brian gasped in disbelief, looking at him “That’s so dangerous!”

“Why would they do that!?” Yerin asked in shock without looking back because she was driving.

“Well, some were saying that the seatbelt hurt their necks and some people were saying that sometimes people break ribs because of the seatbelts.” Jae said, shaking his head and Brian scoffed.

“If the seatbelt breaks their ribs, imagine what would happen if they didn’t have the seatbelt on.” Jae pointed at him in agreement and nodded “That’s insane.”

“Exactly, that’s what the sensible people were saying.” He told them “They would have probably gone flying out of the windshield.”

“ _Plus_ ” Jimin started, a tad sheepishly but Jae noticed how she sounded more and more like herself as she went “there are things you can buy to put on the seatbelt so that it doesn’t hurt.”

Yerin took one hand off the wheel and brought it to her chest, over the strap of the seatbelt.

“I have one.” She smiled, moving it up and down to show what she meant. It was black and barely noticeable “It’s useful when you’re short.” She shrugged “It’s true that the belt hurts your neck, but these things are dirt-cheap.” She shook her head “Why are people so stupid?”

“Good question. I ask myself that all the time.” Jimin said with a little chuckle, looking over at her.

 

 

It was rush hour so there naturally was a traffic jam and, since it was raining, there were more cars than usual. The bus they could have taken was also stopped a couple of cars ahead of them. It would take ages to get home.

“If I wasn’t so scared of catching a cold” Jae complained huffing “I would have run.”

“Same.” Brian sighed “But it’s always better to ride in a comfortable car.” He smiled and Yerin chuckled.

“Very true. It’s also been a while since I’ve been in an actual car.” Jae hummed “Sitting on the back of a shady red van doesn’t count.” He clarified and Brian and Jimin chuckled at the reference to Sungjin’s, _definitely_ a little dodgy, van.

Yerin was going to say something but she ended up not doing it when they realised that it wasn’t just the rain and the number of cars that was causing the traffic jam. They saw the police standing in the rain (wearing the condom-like raincoats, no less) and there were two crashed cars, one behind the other. The one in the back was in pretty rough shape, but there seemed to be no injured people. There was a man crying on his knees under the rain while one of the cops patted him on the back. It was a weird scene but they didn’t linger there for long enough to see how it turned out.

“ _Yikes_ ” Yerin hissed “I hope it never happens to me.”

Jimin nodded gravely.

The traffic was slightly less horrible after that situation and they could all see that Yerin was always complaining about other’s people lack of driving skills.

When they saw someone skid spectacularly with their car against the pavement at the side of the road she actually swore a little in frustration.

“ _God,_ for real” Yerin said, louder this time, clearly frustrated “some of these people look like they got their license in a cereal box!”

Jae snorted at the joke. It was a good one.

_(Jimin clearly had good taste.)_

“You’ve had your license for long?” Jimin asked after they drove past the second accident they’d seen that afternoon.

“I got it when I turned 18 but only got my own car last year.” She told her with a smile that had her blushing again. Jae decided to help a bit more.

“If it’s not offensive, how old are you now, Yerin?” He asked with a grin and Yerin shook her head.

“Not offensive at all, Jae-hyung!” She chuckled with a snort “I’m 22.”

“Oh, so am I!” Jimin exclaimed with a little smile looking at her “Uh…wh-when’s your birthday?”

( _Well done, Jimin, very well done._ )

“June the 26th.” Yerin told her with a smile.

They had an age gap of exactly nine (9) days but Jae knew. He just knew that Jimin would do it because he knew _he_ would do it (and they were both _fools_ ).

“Ah…” Jimin started coyly with a small smile “I was born on the 5th of July... should I call you _unnie_?”

 _There it was_. Jae tried to keep a straight face (ah, a _straight_ face) but it was hard, especially when he had a hunch on how Jimin felt saying that stuff. He also remembered, not without a little pang, that that had been exactly what Brian had asked him when they’d shared their ages. But, well, it was different because there was an actual significant age gap between them (and Brian liked to joke around. Jae still remembered that after they’d left that Battenberg Cake-looking bakery he’d joked about having saved his contact as Jae- _oppa,_ the little shit).

“Oh no, of course not!” Yerin exclaimed and Jae noticed that she’d blushed a little “Not for such a tiny age gap!”

Jimin chuckled and cleared her throat before shrugging a little.

“I don’t know, some people prefer it that way…” She said and Jae saw Brian snort and looked at him.

“What?”

Brian chortled and looked at him.

“That’s very true. I remember that when I was in primary school one kid wanted everyone to call him _hyung_ and _oppa_ because he was older than everyone.” He said and Jae scoffed “He wanted to hit another kid when he refused because they had literally the same birthday and were only apart by a couple of hours.” He told him and Jimin laughed.

“Are you serious!?” Jae asked in disbelief and Jimin snorted.

“Kids can get pretty wild in this country.” Yerin chuckled and Brian snorted with a nod “But I really don’t think it’s important, I mean, sure, if you’re really older. But if you’re born in the same year it’s…” She frowned and huffed, clearly having her attention stolen away “It’s green!” She suddenly exclaimed gesturing towards the cars in front of her who weren’t moving despite the green light “What is that person doing!?” She exclaimed, slamming her hand on the honk and swearing “What the fuck are you doing!? Did you die in the car!? It’s green, you piece of shit! Move!”

Jae looked at Brian who had pursed his lips and was trying not to laugh and it was clear to Jae that he was used to Yerin’s road rage, but Jimin had widened her eyes in surprise.

Jae _knew._ He just knew that that was the look of someone who wasn’t very bothered at all by the unexpected development.

_(I feel you, sis.)_

The cars finally started moving and Yerin glanced over at Jimin, seeing the look on her face and looking suddenly very embarrassed.

“Oh God, I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s fine!” Jimin said in a choked voice before clearing her throat and laughing “I’m not squeamish with swearing.”

“She’s not, trust me!” Jae confirmed with a grave nod “When she’s mad she can make sailors blush.”

“Shut up.” Jimin chortled as Yerin giggled “Don’t tell her that!”

But it had helped. Yerin didn’t look that embarrassed anymore, knowing that she wasn’t alone in her swearing antics.

Jae was pretty damn pleased with himself for his accomplishments as a wingman and decided to pick up the cue to ask Brian about his birthday. He was a very brainy young man, mind you.

“Right, I don’t know when your birthday is, Brian- _ah_.” He said and Brian chuckled as he glanced at him. The honorific had been on purpose, _naturally._

“December the 19th.” He said with a very telling look on his face. Jae knew that look. It was the look of someone who had their birthday six days before Christmas.

“You never got a single birthday present in your life aside from perhaps your parents.” Jae declared dramatically, already making a mental note not to forget about that date.

Brian nodded gravely and snorted as the two girls at the front chuckled.

“If it makes you happy, sometimes my birthday fell on the day we were meant to go back to school, so it’s not much better.” Jae offered, friendly patting his shoulder.

“When is it?” Brian asked curiously.

“September the 15th.” He told him before he chuckled and added “I mean, school in the US, not here, _obviously_.”

Brian snorted and nodded.

“Yeah, I figured.”

After a while of chatting and banter, Jae realised that it was extremely therapeutic to drive in a car with Baek Yerin on the wheel because she didn’t save on the road rage and kind of incited everyone to join her in it. It was a weird way to bond with people, but if it worked, it was as good as any.

(It was also a brilliant way to let off steam without hurting anybody since it wasn’t common in Korea for people to drive around with fire guns in their gloveboxes.)

Jimin had seriously found the Holy Grail in this girl. Jae was already far gone for the handsome fellow sitting beside him, but this girl was exactly his type.He and Jimin really had similar personalities and tastes in people. Jae loved it.

* * *

 

“Wait, where are we going?” Jae asked in confusion when he saw Yerin drive right past the front door of their dorm. Brian didn’t look fazed by it but Jimin also looked somewhat surprised.

“The parking place is through the East gate, under C-floor.” Yerin explained and Jimin hummed with a nod.

Jae didn’t know they had a parking place in their dorm and at first he didn’t make much of it. However, when they went round the massive building and drove past a dark metallic gate, that opened after Yerin flashed her student card in front of a machine, and they drove down into the weirdly glowing underground parking place he kind of felt the creeps.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (ikr?? two chapters on the same day?? the catch are the bad jokes and the mistakes and typos. i cant see for sh*t rn. i'll reread on monday /cries/ adió s)


	7. The C-floor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> «Welcome to C-floor. We’re glad to see you alive :)”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, two chapters in one day. Im sorry they're both, well, /this/ lol
> 
> in this chapter: Jae is scared of creepypasta (a classic) and Brian is a sweetheart
> 
> another catch is that unfortunately i don't have time to reply to anybody today, since i'm in the library and must beat it in like 10 mins lol im just sorry for the typos and eventual extra messy stuff, because as you already know (because i'm always rambling lol) my editing process is terrible and keep taking stuff away and adding more stuff so, yeah, sorry about that
> 
> thank you so much for all the support (i love being enabled /shoT) and i hope u enjoy this stuff as well

* * *

 

“I didn’t even know we had an underground parking place.” Jae commented when they got out of the car and he took a good look around “Fancy.”

It wasn’t a huge parking place and it didn’t have very many cars. It was in fact somewhat small, especially with all the fluorescent white lights surrounding it. In fact, along with Yerin’s, there were only three other cars and one of them, Jae noticed, was the warden’s.

Brian chuckled as they walked to the staircase.

“The original building didn’t have it.” Yerin said “They rebuilt the building from scratch some years ago and made this parking place.” She told them as they climbed the white tiled stairs, surrounded by white walls and illuminated by fluorescent lights, which in Jae’s _definitely-not-influenced-by-weird-sci-fi-films_ opinion, looked like the way to meet the mastermind behind the apocalypse “After the huge fire that destroyed most of the building.”

Jae widened his eyes. A fire!? He’d never heard about anything like that.

“There was a fire?” Jimin asked, breathily, with wide eyes and Yerin nodded gravely. Those were long and steep stairs, with several flights of stairs. Jae was kind of glad that _Brokeman_ couldn’t afford a car at that moment. His knees hurt to bend, also, but he tried not to make a scene, despite himself.

“Didn’t know that…either…God, who thought these stairs were a…a good idea!?” Jae wheezed and it was clear that he wasn’t the only one thinking that it was tough because Jimin was also panting “Would it hurt to have a…a lift…instead?” Brian also looked tired and so did Yerin but perhaps not as much as the first-timers. Jae’s knees really hurt and the effort was helping.

“I also didn’t know about the fire.” Jimin said.

“ _Motherfucker_ …” Jae wheezed in English when he saw yet another flight of stairs when they turned a corner, wincing at the pain “will these stairs e…ever end?”

“Almost… there, Jae-hyung.” Brian said with a smile, also breathing heavily “It’s this one and one more.”

“ _Ay._ ” Jae wheezed, feeling his chest ache and groaning at the info. Like, he could go for long distances, as long as it didn’t mean too much climbing. His body wasn’t fit enough for that kind of effort. One day he would be a wholesome, muscly jock, but that day would only come far in the future. Right now, he was a very tall, thin, wheezing man, with two tender knees, who was starting to see the light of death and cursed whoever decided to build those bloody stairs instead of installing a lift.

It wasn’t the light, but it was a door and Jae almost started praying to God as a thank you for being so generous and not killing him like that.

“Th…thank God…” He breathed when they reached the top step and Yerin pushed the door open and Jae realised they were not on the South Wing, but on C-floor. He’d never been to that part of the building and could only tell because it was written on the wall with what seemed to be red sharpie in very ominous handwriting,

 

**«Welcome to C-floor. We’re glad to see you alive :)”**

“ _Jesus…_ ” Jae groaned when he read that message. It was freaky as hell. He leant against the wall and bent over, rubbing his sore knees.

“Are you alright, hyung?” He heard Brian’s voice near him, sounding worried. He opened his eyes and saw him looking at him. He also looked worried, he wasn’t even smiling.

“I will be...” Jae breathed heavily getting away from the wall with a chuckle “those stairs…not cool…and who even wrote that…that message?”

“It’s been there since I started living here.” Yerin shrugged nonchalantly “Somebody must have thought it was funny to look at that after climbing those stairs.”

Brian was still looking at Jae though. Jimin was bent over also catching his breath but she was chortling at the joke. Yerin was laughing a little.

“Who needs the gym when we have these stairs, right?” She grinned, clearly already recovered from the climb as was Brian, who still looked concerned about Jae’s health.

“How far are we from D-floor?” Jae asked with a sigh, rubbing his forehead and Yerin hummed.

“A bit far.” She told him with an apologetic smile and he whimpered dramatically.

“Are you sure you’re alright, hyung?” Brian asked again “Do your knees hurt?”

“Bro, I’m fine, I promise.” He told him straightening up and smiling a little “Just a little out of shape.”

“Same.” Jimin sighed.

“But you were touching your knees…” Brian noticed and he bit his lower lip.

“I’ll live.” Jae repeated with a chuckle, placing a hand on Brian’s shoulder “Don’t worry about it.”

Yerin smiled fondly and sighed.

“Brian-oppa really reminds me a lot of Sungjin-oppa, sometimes. Always worried about others….” Yerin suddenly said with a slightly bittersweet smile. Jimin looked at her in surprise.

“You know Park Sungjin-oppa?” She asked and both Brian and Jae looked at her as well.

“Well, yes. I enrolled on Park Sungjin-oppa’s last year. He was also in the South Wing...” Yerin told them before she looked around and pursed her lips “Let’s walk to D-floor, I don’t really like this floor.” She confessed looking around. Jae sighed. At least he wasn’t the only one not liking this place.

“I didn’t know that.” Brian said and Yerin shrugged.

“I’m the only one who remains from last year’s South Wing group.” She smiled “Nobody ever asked, so I never really said anything about it.”

“Fair enough.” Brian shrugged with a smile as he finally pushed the doors out of the dreadful C-floor.

Jae hadn’t heard a single voice or sound on their walk through that damn floor and despite how giddy he felt knowing that Brian cared about him (even though, as Yerin had said, he always worried. Well, _life_ ) he was _kind of_ scared of that place. It was already getting dark outside and the rain was hitting hard against the glass windows of the corridors, illuminated by fluorescent white lights similar to the ones they had in the underground parking place.

Why was there no noise aside from the rain and their steps?

“Do people really live on that floor?” Jae asked as they made their way through the main entrance and over to D-floor. Brian nodded casually.

“Yeah, I think there are no free rooms on C-floor.” He told Jae who felt the chills “I think the only available rooms are in the North Wing.”

“How come we didn’t hear a soul in those corridors?”

Brian shrugged.

“No clue. Maybe they’re not there?” He suggested and nobody but Jae (and perhaps Yerin) seemed to find it strange at all.

_(Jae prayed mentally to God and Jesus to help him and not give Brian more reasons to think that I’m a fucking coward.)_

“It’s weird.” He declared evenly (but he felt a bit anxious, he fucking hated _creepypasta_ and that kind of stuff) “I mean, to not hear anybody. No matter what time it is, you’ll always hear people on D-floor.” He shrugged in an attempt to look nonchalant (it was easier now that they were closer to sweet, _sweet_ , _not ominous_ D-floor) “Look, people getting it on is almost a lullaby for me at this point. I’m not used to it being quiet.”

Brian covered his mouth and snorted onto it, looking surprised. Yerin widened her eyes and Jimin snorted in disbelief (well, _yes_ , it was a distraction, but it wasn’t a lie.

He _wished_ it was a lie, to be _very_ honest).

“No, for real! There’s people on that corridor getting a lot of action.”

Jae almost sighed as they all laughed, as Jae started naming his suspects which only made them laugh harder, because it’s always funny to imagine people who look perfectly innocent yelling indecencies when the walls around them are paper-thin.

* * *

 

Jimin’s cramped tiny room felt even more cramped and tiny with seven people squeezed inside it, but nobody was complaining because it’d been fun so far. Jae had decided that he could take _yet another day off_ and managed to talk everyone into procrastinating with him, including Baek Yerin _(Wingman of the Year)_. He could regret it next week, while he cried over midterms. For now he would bask in how persuasive he could be (they could have well gone to his and Wonpil’s room, though, since it was a tab bigger, despite being somewhat messier. It had been more out of habit than anything else that they’d stayed there).

They were currently waiting on the take-out they had ordered while eating the load of snacks that had been brought over from everybody’s rooms. Jae felt like he was in Heaven. Everyone would pay their share for the take-out, since it was a lot of people and thus a lot of food, it wouldn’t be too expensive. Brian had offered to pay for Jae again and Jae had almost groaned before joking that he should keep a tab with his name with all the stuff he was paying for him but Brian hadn’t seemed too bothered by it. Jae would pay for it at some point, though. He really would.

“Brian-oppa is a sweetheart.” Jimin grinned, glancing at Jae who snorted and shook his head. Yerin nodded with a little whiny noise.

“Why were you on C-floor though?” Kevin asked munching on crisps. They’d been letting them in on their afternoon adventures with Yerin and the message on the wall of C-floor when they climbed the stairs.

“The underground parking place leads to C-floor.” Brian explained.

“There’s a parking place?” Wonpil asked curiously sneaking the bag of biscuits away from Jae’s reach and eating the last one. Jae squinted at him.

“I see you…” He muttered. Wonpil grinned cheekily as he made a show of munching on the biscuit.

“Yeah, there’s a parking place.” Yerin confirmed with a nod, clearly trying not to get crumbs on Jimin’s bed (little did she know that not only did Jimin not mind it, but she also often ate in bed) “It’s right under C-floor.”

Dowoon frowned and hummed, shaking his head.

“This dorm is so weird” he commented “like, there’s a D-floor and a C-floor, but C is after D. And then there’s the North Wing and the South Wing…” he paused and showed his palms looking up at the others “but there’s no A or B floors.”

Everyone chuckled at that but they realised that he was right.

“I think that what you would call the A-floor is the entrance floor…” Yerin mused “B-floor must be the floor just below that one, when you go down the stairs and there’s the common room with the pool tables and stuff…”

Dowoon hummed at the explanation before he nodded.

“Ah, I see. I guess it makes sense. But the rest doesn’t.” He shook his head and Brian nodded looking at him.

“He’s right.” He agreed “I don’t get the logic either.”

“This dorm is a lot bigger than I thought, also.” Jimin commented and the others agreed “And a lot weirder, too.” She added.

“Why?” Wonpil asked curiously, looking up at her.

“Yerin told us there was a fire a couple of years ago. Pass me those crackers” she asked Jae from where she was sitting on the bed with Kevin and Yerin. Jae and the other boys were sitting on the floor (Jae had said he wanted the bed too but Jimin had said his limbs were too long, so he was currently curled against her bedside-table, despite his aching knees, right in front of the pile of food which 100% made up for the pain). She pointed at the crackers near Jae’s right leg, which he grabbed and gave to her “Thanks.”

“A fire!?” Dowoon gaped at Yerin, widening his eyes and she nodded “What happened?”

“I don’t know what happened, but it’s said that it started on C-floor. It was a long time before I started living here.” She said and the others listened attentively, clearly wanting more details “It apparently destroyed most of the building because, no matter how hard the firefighters tried, they couldn’t put it out.”

Jae shivered.

“The only bit that didn’t burn down was the North Wing.” She said and the silence was only disturbed by the sound of the rain against the window and the crunchy noises of the snacks.

“Ah. So, that’s why some people call it the Old Wing instead of North Wing.” Kevin hummed with a smile. He actually liked that kind of stuff a lot “And nobody knows what started it?”

Yerin paused a little as she mused. Everyone looked at her expectantly. Brian had clearly never heard about that either and it was also clear that Jae was the only one who was actually creeped out by that stuff.

“Well…” Jae braced himself, trying to comfort himself by munching on crisps ( _Please, let it be something normal_ , _no rituals to summon evil souls from Hell, for the love of God_ ) “you remembered how at the beginning of the year the warden said that candles were strictly forbidden?” She asked and everyone nodded keenly “Well, the generally accepted theory is that it started because of that.”

_(Thank God.)_

Kevin hummed thoughtfully, crumpling the bag of crisps he was eating and chucking onto the pile on the floor.

“Did someone get hurt?” He asked and Yerin nodded.

“I think so. Apparently, the fire alarm didn’t sound at all and some people got caught in the flames.”

Everyone got dead silent, staring at her.

“Did someone die?” Jimin whispered cautiously. The stares got more intense and expectant.

(Jae started praying mentally.)

“Probably” she said, very seriously “like I said, it’s said that they got caught in the flames.”

_(Jae was fine.)_

“Holy shit…” Kevin muttered with wide eyes “on what floor?”

“Probably C.” Yerin confirmed Jae’s greatest fear and everyone gasped “Since the screams must have warned everyone else.”

(Jae was a strong _, unafraid_ man and wasn’t scared at all. _He was fine_.)

“I’m telling you, there’s something weird about that floor!” Jae said dramatically, aggressively munching on biscuits to hide his quick pulse and flighty feelings “You could literally not hear a soul!”

“That’s true.” Jimin chuckled, looking at him and obviously remembering that he was terrified because she knew him ( _Please, Jimin, remember when you were scared? I didn’t tease you about it_ ) “Pass me a juice bag. Thanks. But it’s like Brian said” She pierced the package with the straw “maybe they weren’t there.”

_(Thank you, Jimin.)_

“I mean” Jae shrugged, clearing his throat “Park Jinyoung told me that he’d heard that the showers there were awful, so somebody must live there, but it’s still _kind of_ freaky.”

Yerin frowned and snorted.

“The warden?” She asked and everyone laughed out loud.

“Park Jinyoung _Jr._ ” Jae clarified “I wouldn’t dare speak of our noble master in such disrespectful terms.” He said gravely and she chortled before acknowledging it.

“I was going to say that. I was going to ask when was it that you’d become so close to the warden of our dorm.” Jimin chuckled sucking on the juice as she eyed Jae’s slightly trembling fingers. She was his friend and she respected him “Oh!” She suddenly remembered something and almost choked “Ah…thanks Kevin-oppa.” She said when he patted her back “Someone from my group recorded our performance yesterday!”

“What?” Yerin asked curiously and the others grinned already knowing what she meant.

“With Park Sungjin-oppa!” Jimin beamed at her and saw her widen her eyes in surprise “Yes, Brian-oppa and Jae-oppa met him a couple days ago and yesterday we all joined him and it was awesome! I’ll just show you!” She exclaimed “Wonpil-oppa, please give me my laptop. It’s right there, behind your head.” She pointed.

Wonpil looked back and saw it, picking it up and kneeling forward to give it to her with a smile.

“Thank you!” She smiled back before she opened it. She clicked about for a bit and turned it towards Brian and the others, Jae’s cheeky smile already on the screen. Yerin tilted her head with a grin to watch too.

“Everyone and their uncles were there, it seems” Jae chuckled, feeling infinitely grateful that Jimin had changed the subject “because someone in our group also recorded it.”

“Someone stopped us in the hallway at school and asked us about the picture Jae-hyung posted on Instagram.” Dowoonadded with a toothy grin “They were really impressed that we’d met Park Sungjin-hyung!” Wonpil grinned as well, clearly feeling pleased with himself.

“Nobody would believe that it had been impromptu when I told them!” Jimin exclaimed and Brian nodded with a chuckle.

“Same in our group.”

That recording had caught everything because it had started before they’d arrived, just as Sungjin had started playing.

Not two minutes in Yerin was bawling her eyes out like their tutor had done earlier. Park Sungjin seemed to have that effect on people when he was performing. Amazing.

“Oh, there’s Brian-hyung! Look!” Dowoon pointed laughing out loud when he noticed the person who had appeared in the background, behind the bench with the flowers where Sungjin was busking and smiled ( _of course_ ) when he noticed that it was Sungjin, before stopping and getting his phone out of his pocket and looking at it.

Brian cackled and Jae had mostly forgotten about the ghost stories when he guffawed.

“That’s when I got there” Brian explained “I was going to text you” he looked at Jae who was still laughing “but then I saw your Instagram post.”

A little while later they all saw themselves approach Park Sungjin and talk to him and the rest just flowed. Brian went to the candy shop to get the tins, they’d talked a little about who would be playing what chords and they’d just called the next person to sing the following line.

“P-park Sungjin-oppa!Waaa…” Yerin cried when the video ended, wiping her eyes with trembling hands “He’s as brilliant as ever. Even better, if that’s possible! I miss him so much!”

“You know Park Sungjin-hyung?” Wonpil asked with a smile.

“I was here last year when he was still here.” She sniffled accepting the tissue box Jimin gave her “Thank you” she smiled, dabbing at her eyes with one of them “I’m sorry, it’s just…”

“We get it, Yerin.” Kevin offered with a chuckle, patting her back “He’s really something else.”

“Our tutor also started crying when he saw the video.” Jae chuckled and Brian nodded widening his eyes and smiling.

Kevin chortled and looked slightly bitter for some reason.

“The way everyone talks about him, it makes it sound like he’s a thousand years old. How old is he, Yerin?” He asked and Yerin sniffled with a chuckle.

“He’s only 26.”

Kevin shook his head and snorted.

“I’m older than him and haven’t done anything with my life yet. Well, I guess we can’t all be Park Sungjin.” He sighed and everyone looked rather uncertain of whether they should tell him it was okay or just shut up. It was clear that Dowoon didn’t know how old he was, because he looked rather surprised.

“No offense, but you look younger, hyung. I could have never guessed.” Dowoon chuckled, lowering his eyes. Kevin breathed heavily before chortling.

“Tell that to my father.” He half-mumbled and it was great thing indeed that Brian’s phone started buzzing on that moment because it seemed like they’d touched a sensitive issue that nobody was ready to address at that point in their friendship. Jae already knew that he had some stuff going on with his father, but he hadn’t really talked about it and Jae didn’t really want to ask. If he wanted to talk, he would.

They wouldn’t get to thank the restaurant for calling at the right time because they were being difficult to handle.

“That’s not… but I said the front door, not the…” He huffed looking at his expectant friends and gesturing with his hand “Yes…can you please speak slower?... but I said it was the front door, that’s not the front door.” He was getting more and more frustrated as the conversation went “ _East_ isn’t the same as…” he almost cried because the person clearly wasn’t budging and said it was raining “Okay, I’ll be right there. Please wait.” He hung up and looked round at everyone, who had shut up to let him speak on the phone “They said they were at the East door.”

“Where the hell is that?” Jimin asked blankly, looking down at Jae.

“I don’t know?” Jae scoffed “I didn’t even know we had an underground parking place!”

“Neither did I.” Kevin shrugged and Wonpil looked like he was hearing about it for the first time as well.

“I know where it is. But it’s further than the front door Brian declared with a chuckle, already standing up and grabbing his shoes from the corner “Wanna come along, hyung? I don’t know if I can carry all the bags by myself.”

“Sure, of course.” He ignored the pain on his knees “I hope it’s not too far.” Jae complained as he got up and got his shoes from the pile as well.

* * *

 

It turned out that Jae was being tested by Satan himself because to get to the East Door, they would have to go through the C-floor, _obviously._

Jae couldn’t suggest that they got there from the outside because not only was it dark and cold outside and it was also raining a lot, still. Plus, _pain._

The clouds the day before had been so flimsy and the sun so beautiful. How could it have gotten so rainy from one day to the next!? Sure, it’d gotten cold and cloudy in the evening but this was ridiculous.

He was kind of waiting for the animals to start going in two by two into the Ark to save themselves from the apocalyptic flood.

“Why is it raining so much!? Throw me in the Ark and call me Noah, because this is ridiculous, man!” He complained loudly, trying to look like he wasn’t too stressed, and Brian chuckled. They had barely walked out of Jimin’s corridor into his.

“The rain is normal at this time of year.” Brian explained with a smile “It was in the weather _foamcast_ …” he snorted and shook his head when Jae glanced at him like he was crazy “not that… _forecas_ t, I meant forecast. I’m good at English, I promise.” He chuckled.

“I know. I was just wondering what the hell was the weather _foamcast_.” He chortled heartily at the funny word and, on any other occasion he would have complained about Wonpil stealing his precious foam cleanser, but they had just arrived at the door to the C-floor and he decided to save it for some other time.

_(Alright, Jae, you can do this. It’s just three corridors. Maybe people will be here now. It’s alright.)_

But it was the same as before. _Worse_ , in Jae’s _definitely not scared_ opinion. It was completely dark outside now, the rain kept hitting relentlessly against the glass windows with the wind whistling along with it and the fluorescent white lights gave a creepy glow to the yellowish walls of the corridor. There was a cobweb on one of the windows and Jae almost jumped when he saw it.

It was as silent as before. Not a soul could be heard. Not a breath. _Nothing._ Jae felt his heart race and looked anxiously around, momentarily forgetting that Brian was actually with him and almost jumping when he felt his warmth right beside him. Even the pain seemed to have subsided because of the stress.

“Is everything alright?” Brian asked and Jae laughed exaggeratedly. The echo only made his heart beat faster.

“Of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’ve gotten pale…” Brian said uncertainly “Are you feeling sick?”

“Of course not!” Jae exclaimed waving his hand “I’ve never been better!”

“Jae, you’re definitely not okay. What’s the matter?” Brian asked but Jae didn’t respond.

Actual human beings had actually been burned alive at some point on that damn place and could well be haunting it with their lost, angry, _perpetually burning_ souls. Jae mentally started praying to the Holy Father, the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit. It helped that Jae believed in both spectres from Hell and Jesus and God but it didn’t solve the problem at all.

Still, at the back of his mind, he didn’t want Brian to think that he was a coward, because he was convinced he hated cowards, so he tried to pretend not to be afraid of that kind of stuff. He almost started running down the corridor and the sound of Brian walking faster to keep up with him made him feel even more scared.

“W-we must hurry! The food is getting cold!” Jae exclaimed with a manic guffaw as he ran faster with Brian running faster yet to keep up with him.

“But you don’t even know which way to take!” Brian exclaimed and pushed the door to the following corridor, the second one. Jae breathed heavily, feeling his heart jam hard against his ribs and he wanted to die when Brian stopped, right in front of him, blocking the way to the second corridor. Jae could feel his warmth from how close they actually were to one another. When Brian spoke again, Jae could feel the biscuit-y scent of his breath against his chin “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

Jae almost cried from the mixed emotions he was feeling and pretty much had no choice. Brian had cornered him. _Literally._

“Fine, whatever!” He whimpered “I’m-I’m fucking scared of that shit, okay!? Like, evil spirits and creepy stuff l-like that. It terrifies me and this corridor is just…”

A loud bang suddenly echoed through the corridor. Jae gasped and Brian widened his eyes, looking around.

“What was that!?” He wheezed instinctively bringing his hands up and grabbing Brian’s shoulders and looking wildly from one end of the corridor to the other. He felt Brian’s hands cover his and looked down at him meeting his eyes.

“You should have told me that earlier.” Brian said evenly and Jae wanted to cry because he wasn’t laughing or sounding patronising and he looked and sounded as honest as Jae had gotten used to. _Brian._

“You would th-think I’m a…” Someone yelled and Jae whimpered, feeling himself tremble from head to toe and lowering his face, closing his eyes “a coward! I’m a coward! I’m sorry I’m a coward!”

“I’m here with you. I also think that this floor is kind of creepy.” He heard Brian say, tightening the grip on his hands “You’re not a coward, everyone is scared of something.”

Jae could use the reassurance, sure, but as far as he knew Brian could be wrong and that floor could really be haunted.

“What if it’s really the soul of-of one of the people who died here?” Jae whispered looking up and meeting Brian’s eyes.

“Well, you’re right but we don’t really know if someone really died here.” Brian said with a little smile, it was clear that he also didn’t feel too confident “Come on, let’s go get the food before it gets cold.”

Jae nodded and breathed heavily, getting away from Brian when he let go of his hands. He felt immediately more anxious with the lack of warmth.

“Besides, I’m a faster runner anyway.” Brian smiled with a little wink and he started running “Catch me if you can!”

Jae widened his eyes and opened his mouth in surprise but he didn’t have to be told twice.

“Brian!” He called after him.

With his eyes set on Brian’s back and running as fast as he could and focusing on not falling, it seemed like the rest of C-floor wasn’t scary at all and when they walked back, with their hands laden with the bags full of warm, delicious-smelling food, Jae felt his heart race for entirely different reasons and could actually joke a little about his fear, making Brian laugh and everything.

“Yeah you can laugh now, when people find out they always laugh at my damn face.” Jae sighed with a tired smile but Brian just chuckled.

“It is a bit funny, I’m not going to lie.” He agreed “I mean, the face you made is.” He clarified before proceeding “Being afraid isn’t funny at all. I’m also not too fond of this stuff, to be honest.” He confessed with a snort and Jae felt that the smile he felt stretching on his own face was enough to exorcise the bitter spirits.

(He was fairly certain that his crush wasn’t a just a crush anymore and maybe that was the reason why he wasn’t that scared of that hellish (suddenly silent again) floor anymore.

It was probably because he felt something that was even more irrational than his fear of ghosts and equal parts scary and exciting.)

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (have a nice weekend. ily, fam)


	8. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, im still around somehow lmao   
> (i still don't have internet at home, currently in the library /sighs)
> 
> I fixed some mistakes in the previous chapters but i reckon that it's a lost cause lol im sorry about that /cries
> 
> Okay, so this chapter is basically the conclusion of the previous one because I wanted more on that and I also wanted to add Jimin's pov because she's a major character and uh... well, idk i felt that it worked like this lol im just kind of trying to explain what im doing even though most of the time i don't understand it myself /shoT/ there is a pl o t though i pro mi s e /sweats loudly
> 
> There's light angst in this chapter and uh... well, idk, i tagged it from the start so... 
> 
> also this chapter is a bit on the shorter side but the next one will be long and the slow burn game will get softer dfhkjghdfjkg it was there on the tags (i'm just causally going to add 'very slow burn' to them lmao)
> 
> okay, enough rambling, thank u for all the support, and i hope ur not bored of this long and very slow burn yet
> 
> b ye

* * *

 

Jimin was rather apprehensive when she was told that to get to the East door you had to go through the C-floor.

She knew that Jae didn’t like that stuff and now that she thought about it, that was probably the reason why he’d looked so tense when they’d walked through that floor.

(She wouldn’t lie, that floor kind of creeped her out as well.)

However, Jae wasn’t alone. Brian was with him and much as Jimin thought that Brian was a decent person, she knew that Jae was a prideful man. If Brian happened to tease him about his phobia... she didn’t even want to think about how badly he could react to that. It would be a double kill for him.

Despite all the jokes and banter, she knew she could count on him when it was serious. She could tell him anything and know for sure that he wouldn’t tell anybody or laugh when it really mattered. He’d literally offered to let her sleep on his bed with him when she was scared, one hundred percent serious, and hadn’t mentioned it ever again. Wonpil also hadn’t said anything about it, just that it was okay to be scared.

So yes, basically, if Brian happened to break Jae’s heart, she would _quite literally_ beat him up.

Jae’s thing for Brian wasn’t like her crush on Yerin, which wasn’t much more than interest and fleeting infatuation.

He _really_ had it bad and he’d _actually_ told her that.

Jimin was really happy when he’d come clean to her and said it was the first time he came out. Despite them not having talked much more about it since then, it was a wonderful feeling to have someone with whom you can share every bit of your existence.

Well, not many people knew that Jimin was bi either. She wasn’t sure if her family would accept it so she hadn’t really told them. It was the old ‘ _if it happens that the person I fall in love with is the same sex as me, I’ll tell them_ ’. She wasn’t really willing to risk ruining her relationship with her family for something that wasn’t certain.

Such was life.

But _really_ , had Jae _actually_ thought that he was being discreet? Like, _come on._ He would literally lose track of what he was saying when he spotted Brian. It was _so_ taxing to watch that stuff without commenting. _For real._

She’d been there the entire time, from when Jae was stealing glances at Brian in the cafeteria and outside, when the weather was nice and he sat around, _brooding with his notebook,_ or being chatted up by girls from time to time, and she could attest the fact that Jae was not discreet about his interest in Brian. _At all._ She could bet her guitar that even Brian had noticed.

However, she hadn’t brought the subject up, fearing that Jae would be offended, especially so early into their friendship.

That time, when she finally called him out, had just been too much. That idiot had literally stopped two steps away from the stairs where Brian was sitting and was just staring like a damn fool.

Like, she knew she was a bit lame too (think about her first _encounter_ with Yerin made her cringe so much she wanted to crawl into a cave and hide in it forever) but Jae took the crown. For someone who was always doing everything he could to make things easier, he’d surely made that unnecessarily complicated.

What was he so scared of?

 

 

“You’re really quiet, Jimin.” Kevin commented seeing that she’d fallen silent as she ate her prawn crackers and looked blankly at the window. She looked over at him and saw his curious smile.

“I was just distracted, thinking about the noodles we’ll eat.” She said evasively with a chuckle, glancing at Yerin and seeing that she was also looking at her “What were you saying?”

“I was asking Yerin since when she’d known you” Dowoon said “but she just said you met yesterday.”

“We met like two hours ago.” Kevin snorted and Yerin chuckled “How did you know Yerin, Wonpil? You said you had already met.” He asked curiously.

Wonpil exchanged a look with Yerin who chuckled and covered her face.

“I’d seen her sometimes on the South Wing.” He smiled brightly, glancing at Dowoon who grinned “And we once went through something very awkward in the laundry room...” He explained, clearly amused.

Yerin giggled into her hands.

_(Cute.)_

“Yes, when my clothes got stuck in the washing machine!”

“What!?” Jimin asked in surprise “What happened?”

“I don’t know!” Yerin shrugged with a chuckle “It just stopped working and I couldn’t force the door open to at least get my clothes out of it!”

“Holy shit.” Kevin said covering his mouth and snorting “How did you get them out?”

“We called the number on the machine but nobody would pick up so we called the warden.” Dowoon gasped and she nodded.

“What did the warden do?” Jimin asked and Wonpil snorted into his biscuit.

“He said he wouldn’t be in the dorm until the following day at noon.” He said and Kevin cackled, shaking his head “It wasn’t very useful.”

“So…how did you solve the problem?” Dowoon asked expectantly “You couldn’t just leave your stuff there, right?” Yerin pursed her lips and shrugged.

“Yeah, we couldn’t. So I called Brian-oppa because I’d seen him fix the toaster.” She told them and Dowoon seemed to remember that too.

“Ah, I remember now!” He grinned before chuckling “He mentioned it! So, it was you!”

Jimin snorted and looked at Yerin who was smiling as she shook her head.

“Yeah, well, so I called Brian-oppa and he came over.” She said and then she sighed “Wonpil-oppa was probably shocked with how much I was swearing…”

Wonpil shook his head and smiled.

“No way, Jae-hyung is always swearing too. I’m used to it!” He assured and she chuckled “And I think that ladies with strong personalities are the most attractive.” He added with a grin.

(Well, Jimin could get behind that _alright._ )

“O-oh…” Yerin smiled “That’s… very nice of you.” She covered her eyes and lowered her face.

(Literally so adorable, _oh dear...)_

“Did Brian fix the machine though?” Kevin asked in disbelief and Yerin actually nodded, and uncovered her face “Really? How!?”

Jimin would like to know that too, honestly.

“Well, from what he said, he basically turned it off and back on again.” Yerin said and everyone immediately snorted because, come _on_ “No, but it wasn’t that easy!” She added as she chuckled too “He had to go back to get tools!”

Kevin frowned and Jimin could feel it too. _Tools?_ That dorm barely had maintenance! They’d been without a fridge for two weeks in the middle of the summer because nobody would come fix it.

“Where did he have them?” Jimin asked with a snort and Yerin shrugged.

“Brian-hyung keeps that kind of stuff in our room.” Dowoon explained with a smile “He likes to fix things instead of replacing them.”

“Oh, I see.” Jimin nodded looking at Yerin and Kevin who clearly ( _naturally_ ) also didn’t know that.

“Brian-hyung had to unscrew the part with the buttons” Wonpil explained “he cut one of the cables and then tied it up again.” He paused with a little musing frown “He had a glove, if I’m not mistaken... he said something about getting zapped.”

“Yeah, since it had something to do with electricity.” Yerin nodded before she smiled and finished the story “Well, the machine basically was reset and I could open it to get my stuff.”

“The floor was flooded.” Wonpil chuckled and Kevin cackled “It was a mess! We just ran away and left it like that…” He confessed with a guilty scoff, looking at Yerin who nodded with a similar look on her face.

“Aw…I wish I’d seen that!” Kevin complained “The weirdest thing I’ve seen there was a guy threatening the other that he would shove him in the tumble dryer.”

Yerin guffawed and looked at him.

“What!?”

“And even called him something like ‘ _yokel_ ’!” Kevin added looking at her with a grin, clearly pleased that he also had a cool story to tell “He was so pissed!”

Yerin had an easy laugh, Jimin noticed, and it was precious and she couldn’t help smiling at it.

 

 

The first time Jimin had seen Yerin had been literally two weeks before, and she didn’t even _see_ her the first time she became aware of her existence. She just listened to her voice, singing, with the sound of a piano, echoing through the empty corridors of their school because it was late and most people had already left.

Only people who wanted to practice a bit more would stay behind. That was the reason why Jimin had stayed, she wanted to practice piano a bit more because she felt that she was falling behind the rest of her group and was getting anxious.

_Beautiful._

That was the first thing Jimin thought when she listened to Yerin’s voice that day.

It wasn’t that Jimin had followed the sound of her voice, she was already going in that direction ( _mind you_ ). She realised that she was playing and singing and in the dimmed lights of the room she looked like an angel.

Jimin felt her heart race a little and ran away when she saw Yerin stop playing and look back at where she was standing, gawking at her like a damn idiot. She tripped in her haste almost falling and shouting a graceful and ever charming ‘ _SHIT, FUCK_ ’ as she tried to stay upright and keep running.

She had no idea why she’d ran, but well, nothing to be done about that after it had already been done. It had just been plain dumb.

But really, at this point, she just wanted to get to know Yerin a bit better and maybe listen to her singing again.

That was all.

 

 

“…love her.” Jimin caught the phrase in the middle because she’d gotten distracted again and the prawn crackers were almost gone. She’d been looking at Yerin without really paying attention to what she and Kevin were talking about (she already knew the story anyway) but she payed attention when she heard ‘ _love_ ’ and ‘ _her_ ’ together “BoA could kick me and I would probably thank her.”

Jimin gurgled and covered her mouth. Hell _yes._ She didn’t know how they’d ended up talking about BoA but she could get behind that. That was something _she_ would say. Yerin was really blunt and Jimin liked that _a lot._

Dowoon grinned and blushed a little, nodding awkwardly.

“Same…” He muttered and Wonpil chuckled, shaking his head “I’ve been her fan for so long… she’s such an amazing woman... and she’s so beautiful…”

Yerin sighed deeply and Jimin felt her hopes skyrocket as she grinned, unable to hide her enthusiasm at the new piece of info.

“Also Twice... _Momo_...” Yerin said and whimpered a little “God…I’m sorry…” she cleared her throat and blushed aggressively with s chuckle “I don’t know what I’m saying…”

But Jimin was very interested in what ‘ _she didn’t know she was saying’_ and felt her heart race a little.

“I also love Twice!” Jimin said, almost bouncing on the bed.

Yerin seemed like she wanted to cry when she looked back at her.

“Jimin!” She exclaimed looking like she wanted to hold her _(please do)_ but just shaking her hands instead “You…” She seemed to very clearly hesitate “I mean, she’s really adorable, isn’t she!?”

Jimin whimpered and bounced a little on the bed.

“She’s literally a ray of sunshine! They’re all so cute and so talented!”

Yerin whined and looked a lot like she wanted to hug Jimin _(Just do it!)_ but she seemed to pull herself together when they heard voices outside and Jimin recognised them as belonging to Jae and Brian.

Jimin’s attention shifted from Yerin to her best friend, who’d just walked into the room and looked rather happy, judging by the _cute little dumb smile_ on his face.

 “That was quick.” Kevin said with a raised eyebrow when he saw them returning not fifteen minutes later “Did you run?”

“A little.” Jae said with a shrug as he and Brian got rid of their shoes in the corner. They tried to put the bags of food where everyone could reach them, but there was a pile of empty biscuit packages and all the rubbish they’d made “Get that stuff out of the way.” He told the younger boys who were sitting right in front of the rubbish. Jimin hopped off the bed and got a plastic bag from one of her drawers and helped them bag all the rubbish.

“Smells delicious!” Yerin commented with a grin “Is it still warm?”

“Just a bit.” Brian told her, smiling and claiming his spot on the floor beside Dowoon as Jae sat beside him, leaning against the bedside-table after all the rubbish was taken out of the way. That’s when Dowoon realised that they’d run out of drinks.

“There’s water in the fridge.” Jimin said looking around to see if anybody volunteered to go get it because she most certainly did not want to get up from the bed _(and away from Yerin, there was also that)_ “But I don’t want to go there...”

“Wonpil.” Jae called and Wonpil looked over at him with a slight pout “Make yourself useful.” He gestured towards the door

Wonpil sighed but did as he was told, standing up and putting his food away.

“There’s also milk.” Jimin reminded and Wonpil nodded.

“Anybody fancy some milk?” Jae asked and everyone shook their heads “Just the water then, Pili.”

“Okay.” He said before he walked out of the room.

Kevin was clearly almost dying of curiosity because he didn’t miss the chance to go right back to that dreadful subject. Damn you, Kevin.

“How was it on C-floor?” He asked and Jimin saw Jae exchange a look with Brian who sighed deeply. They distributed the food around to everyone, leaving one on Wonpil’s spot, before Brian spoke.

“There’s really something strange with that floor.” He said seriously as he opened his noodle box and snapped his chopsticks apart, looking up at Kevin “We heard some noise.”

Dowoon didn’t seem too disturbed by it, though, he just looked interestedly at his roommate, but Yerin gasped and almost dropped her food on her lap.

“Noise!?” She whispered with wide eyes, clutching the box “I’ve-I’ve never heard anything there in t-two years!”

“We heard something.” Jae said tersely “And it was not cool.”

“What kind of noise?” Kevin asked leaning over to listen better.

“There was a bang… the first one.” Brian said and he glanced at Jae who looked like he wanted to eat his fear away by how quickly he was slurping on his noodles. Jimin feared he would choke.

“A bang!” Yerin gasped “And there was more than one?!” She paled aggressively, widening her eyes “Oh my God…” She whimpered and Jae looked up at her, almost thankful.

“Then we heard someone yelling…” Brian said and Jimin saw very clearly that Jae’s obvious fear didn’t make him happy “Can we not talk about it, please? I don’t like it very much…I’m sorry…”

“Please and thank you!” Yerin whimpered, nodding “I have to go through that place to get my car!” She complained looking at Kevin who chuckled and sighed.

“Alright, alright.” He said, shaking his head.

Jimin looked at Brian in silence and despite the fear she also kind of felt, the fact that Brian had said that ‘ _he_ ’ didn’t like it very much made her trust him.

_(Maybe there was hope for Jae, also.)_

Wonpil returned with the water and was kind enough to give out plastic cups and pour water for everyone.

“You’re all so silent.” He commented with a curious look.

“Brian and Jae heard noise on C-floor.” Kevin told him with a smile after thanking him for the water and Wonpil tilted his head to the side, clearly confused.

“What about it?”

“Yerin says she’s never heard anything there in two years.” Kevin clarified and Jimin frowned at him. _That horror freak._

“Oh, right…” Wonpil nodded sitting down and grabbing his food “it’s supposed to be haunted, right?”

Jae scoffed and looked at him in disbelief.

“No it is not. It is not _supposed_ to be haunted.” He snapped at him despite his fear “No part of this building is _supposed_ to be haunted. I am not paying money that I have worked to earn, to live in a place that is haunted.” He said that very formally and very tersely, pointing emphatically at the floor. The others snorted a bit. Jimin wouldn’t lie that the way he was saying it made it sound funny but he was quite right. She also didn’t want to live in a place that was haunted.

“Agree!” Yerin exclaimed and Jae nodded at her, looking like he wanted to high-five her “I am not paying an extra parking fee for this!” She declared and Jae nodded vehemently.

“Thank you, Yerin. You’re a person I can agree with.”

Yerin didn’t get the chance to reply because a song that completely destroyed that mood filled the room.

_‘Mr Boombastic…’_

“Jesus. What the hell is that!?” Kevin scoffed when he suddenly started hearing what seemed _terribly_ like _Mr Boombastic_ by Shaggy.

“My phone.” Jae said with a nervous chuckle as he grabbed his phone from his pocket looking up at him and everyone just lost it “I’d almost forgotten I had that as my general ringtone.”

“Dude…” Kevin winced, shaking his head.

Jimin almost cried because in six months she hadn’t known that Jae had that as his ringtone because he always either had his phone on silent mode or he had a specific song for each one of his friends.

(He had Toy Story’s _You’ve Got a Friend in Me_ for her.)

Jae widened his eyes at the screen of his phone.

“Who is it?” Jimin asked curiously and he looked up at her before looking around, almost reverently.

“The Legendary One.” He said dramatically but it didn’t sound dramatic at all with his damn ringtone as the background music “It’s Park Sungjin-ssi!”

Yerin gasped as Shaggy hit it with the _‘Mr Lover-Lover…’._

“Pick it up, hyung!” Wonpil incited eagerly and Jae nodded.

“Hello, Park Sungjin-ssi.” He greeted and everyone looked expectantly at him, the C-floor momentarily forgotten “It’s an honour to be contacted by you.” He said gravely and Jimin snorted shaking her head and then Jae chuckled “Alright, I’m sorry...what’s up?” Silence “Yeah?” He glanced at Brian and nodded. Brian smiled and looked as confused as everyone else “Sure, of course, I do!” More silence, his eyes fell on Dowoon and Wonpil and he nodded “Yeah, they’re actually right here, we were all eating...” More silence, Jae chuckled and rolled his eyes “It’s fine, come on, Park Sungjin-ssi…what were you going to say?” He fell silent again, just nodding before he widened his eyes “Uh...I think I...I think I’m going to put it on speaker...hang on...” He pulled the phone from his ear and pressed the speaker button.

“It’s on speaker.” He said with a grin and they heard Sungjin chuckle before clearing his throat.

“Hello everyone.” Sungjin’s voice filled the silence in the room. Yerin covered her mouth and her immediately welled up.

“ _S-sunbae_...” She legitimately teared up when she uttered that single honorific.

 “Oh...” Sungjin exclaimed “Is that Yerin-ya?” He asked with a smile in his voice “Hey there, what a coincidence!”

Wonpil beamed at her and Kevin chuckled.

“Y-yes, it’s so good to hear you, Sungjin-oppa!” She gurgled, unable to hide her sobbing voice.

“N-no, why are you crying!?” Sungjin sounded worried before he chuckled a little “I’m sorry we haven’t been in touch lately! I’ve-I’ve been so busy…”

“You have that effect on people, Park Sungjin-ssi!” Jae grinned speaking into the phone “People tend to cry when they hear you!”

“What?” Sungjin gasped clearly shocked “Why!?”

“Park Sungjin-hyung is amazing!” Dowoon grinned, almost cheered, and Jimin _almost_ joined.

(What!? Park Sungjin really was amazing!)

Sungjin sighed deeply.

“You guys...” He chuckled as everyone laughed at his clear embarrassment “Okay, I don’t want to disturb you for too long...”

“You don’t disturb us!” Wonpil exclaimed and the others snickered at how angry it sounded.

“Fine!” Sungjin chuckled “Sorry! Anyway...uh...so...I know this is kind of sudden and you’ll probably tell me that... but...” he hesitated “I would like to know if you’re up for playing together again.”

Silence.

They all looked at one another with wide eyes.

“Okay, I knew it, it’s really...”

“No!” Wonpil exclaimed immediately and everyone looked at him, grinning “I...I would love to play together with Sungjin-hyung again!”

“So would I!” Dowoon raised his hand even though Sungjin would clearly not see it “I want to play for real this time! With real drums!”

“You know I’m also up for it, Park Sungjin-hyung!” Brain grinned glancing at Jae who had been grinning the whole time.

“Well, Sungjin-ssi” Jae grinned “I think you have the answer to your question.”

Sungjin was silent for a moment.

“This really makes me happy...” The smile was clear in his voice“uh…so, there’s this bar with live music and they’ll be holding a contest for five or six-member bands on Sunday...” everyone gasped “Yeah, I know this is pretty crazy!” he chuckled “But I’ve…I’ve been driving by every day for a while...” he paused and sighed, Jimin felt her heart race at the prospect and grinned “And I would really like to give it a go...” He said with a sigh “It’ll be fine if you decline though!” He quickly assured.

It was clear as daylight that nobody wanted to decline.Yerin was very openly bawling again and when Jimin decided to comfort her, she accepted the touch without hesitating and just held on to her.

_(Finally.)_

“Well” Kevin chuckled and glanced at the two girls sitting beside him who were also smiling “five is a great number, even though six would be cool too” he said, looking from Jae to Brian and the younger boys “you should give it a go, guys.”

The boys remained silent looking up at him. The silence dragged for longer than a couple seconds. Dowoon looked like he was dying to do that but since nobody else was talking, he remained quiet. He exchanged a look with Wonpil, who covered his teeth with his lips and smiled, looking down.

Jae looked at them before his eyes fell on Brian’s who was clearly also waiting for someone to speak.

It was a really long shot, to enter a contest that would be held in two days.

“We can be your sixth member from the audience.” Jimin said with a sheepish smile, shattering the silence. Everyone looked at her, with Yerin still crying in her arms “I have a really good feeling about this!”

“I know that...” Yerin sobbed with a chuckle “I...I know that Sungjin-oppa wanted...” she sniffled and accepted the tissue Jimin handed her “sorry, Jimin...I just... Sungjin-oppa, you wanted something like this...”

Sungjin didn’t speak immediately but then they heard him chortle.

“It’s making me feel awful...” he said “that you’re crying because of... because of me, for some reason... but...” he paused again “yes, I... I wanted to try this for a long time...”

“It is settled then!” Jae exclaimed loudly, making everyone jolt in surprise “We’re a bunch of freaks anyway, and you know, you know we like crazy stuff, don’t you Park Sungjin-ssi!?” He grinned into the phone and Sungjin laughed.

Brian cackled loudly.

“Is he talking about their crime?” Wonpil asked Kevin who was also losing it on the bed.

“Shh.” Jimin shushed softly with a grin and Wonpil covered his mouth.

“Alright, fair” Sungjin chortled “I was just, like, thinking that we should practice a little before Sunday...” he said “I just don’t know where we could do that...”

“We can do it at school!” Dowoon suggested raising his hand and looking round “There’s almost nobody there on Saturdays, I think it would be okay!”

Jae chuckled and waved with his hand.

“Great idea, Dowoonie. I’m sure it’ll be fine, if someone complains we’ll just point at Park Sungjin-ssi. They’ll drop to their knees and weep before his great presence!” He said gravely and that made everyone laugh heartily.

“Stop that, Park Jaehyung-ssi!” Sungjin complained on the phone and Jae didn’t have to defend it because Brian did it for him.

“You should have seen Kim Wonho-ssi, crying like a baby when we told him you were still playing!” He exclaimed “Jae-hyung isn’t making it up!”

“Face it, Park Sungjin-ssi” Kevin grinned “you’re so good, people can’t help but tear up when they hear you.”

Sungjin huffed very loudly before he chuckled.

“You’re making me feel anxious, I don’t want people crying because of me!” He exclaimed and they all chuckled too “But okay, school is a good place. When will you be free tomorrow afternoon? It can’t be in the morning because I have work to do.”

“Right” Jae said seriously “I forgot we’re dealing with Sungjin, _the Builder_ here.”

Sungjin laughed a little at the reference and they realised that everyone was free that afternoon, so they settled to meet at 3pm and work from there. Sungjin would pick them up in his, well, in his red pick-up van.

It was a really long shot but Jimin had a really _, really_ good feeling about it and it was clear that she wasn’t the only one. The four boys looked thrilled at the idea, judging by their wide smiles, that would _probably_ be enough to exorcise any evil spirits.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sungjin is everyone's ult in here and im not sorry about that tbh)


	9. One-Hit Wonder Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't up for interpretation anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi there, i hope ur still pumped for this thing dshfkjhgkdjfhg (and who's pumped for the 6th? bc i'm dying already and the teasers aren't all out yet. God save us all)
> 
> well, i was planning on getting a new chapter out sooner but I haven't gone to the library this week so i didn't get the chance to do that. i wrote a shitload more of this thing because of the lack of internet though lmao  
> (i'm having a lot of fun writing this mess and the support you've been giving me would just get me to find inspiration, if i had none fjkhdkfjgh thank you so much, fam. ily.)
> 
> anyway, in this chapter: as promised, the slow burn gets somewhere, there are confessions, there's a load of bad jokes and self-indulgent references (it was in the tags, it's right there, i tagged it /cries), more great modern classics, more quality bonding time, and the mystery is intensified by the fear of losing a valuable friend. a bit of alternating pov's too. hopefully you'll dig this stuff and it won't be just one big flop fgjdgjdfgdg
> 
> i can only ask you to forgive the mistakes and that sort of shit, since i cant avoid them /weeps/ ah, and maybe i should talk about this but when it's dialogue, i sometimes write the same word more than once and that's on purpose. it's bc repetition is a feature of natural conversation lol idk sorry about that /cries
> 
> (im also sorry i'm always so rambly btw i just like to talk, especially when im a bit high /cries)
> 
> alright, that's it /sweats/ hope u enjoy this one as well, by e

* * *

 

Brian wasn’t sure when exactly his curiosity for Jae and his humorous antics had turned out to be something else. Something that he should have seen coming from miles away but hadn’t because he was a damn idiot.

In his defence, his previous relationship had been a disaster and so had the one before that, so he’d thought that he would be better off alone and focusing on his studies like he should. He hadn’t been looking for a relationship at all and he was resolved to keep people who might show interest in him at arm distance.

He had kind of been looking forward to his lonesome school life.

(Which was sad, but it was justified, mind.)

But then Jae had happened.

Jae had happened and had pretty much thrown his resolve out the damn window. Jae had happened and Brian didn’t even know what hit him.

It was maybe the fact that he’d thought that Jae and Jimin were dating the entire time and hadn’t even considered the possibility that Jae could be anything other than straight.

Brian was hoodwinked by his curiosity, basically. Because, sure, he thought Jae was good-looking but since he’d assumed he was straight, there had to be another reason why he’d spent months looking at him without ever coming to talk to him. Something he’d done. Maybe something about his face. Or maybe he just hated his guts for no reason, who knew? That shit happened, mind.

Well, he hadn’t been wrong about the curiosity.

Curiosity had most likely been what had drawn him right in and he’d just been too damn dumb to realise what would happen if he didn’t pull away.

It didn’t matter the reason, really, or when exactly he’d fallen for Jae because either way, he was fucked, because he was already a goner.

When he saw how gentle and thoughtful Jae was along with the jokes and the banter, it was already too late to do something about his feeling.

He could only blame it on his weakness for being treated well. And that was a good thing.

 _In theory_.

Brian tended to be very trusting when people appeared to be respectful and nice, and that sometimes got him into things with people that didn’t want much more than bed him and it turned out to be disappointing as hell.

_Jae though._

He didn’t act like any of the people that had screwed him over in the past. He was laidback and soft but then he got anxious and angry. He acted cool but sometimes the blood rushing to his face would betray his cool front and it was both cute and confusing.

It was driving Brian mad.

Jae had been giving him all sorts of mixed signs and he was going mad because he didn’t know for sure what his intentions were.

But now? Well, now he wanted Jae. _He really fucking wanted him_.

He wanted him so bad that he didn’t even mind being heartbroken, _again_ , just so that he could have him for as long as Jae was willing to be with him.

 

His mind was reeling and because of that, it was hard for him to fall asleep that night. Half because of Jae and half because of Sungjin’s crazy impromptu band project and how they had to be ready to perform in front of an audience in less than 48 hours.

Brian was so excited about it though. He really wanted to know what would happen. The odds of it being a disaster were pretty much the same of it being great. Brian was curious to know how lucky he ( _they_ ) actually were.

(He wished he had something to smoke and relax his head though, but pot was harder to get in there than it was to find a ghost ( _quite literally_ it seemed) and, well, he had a 9am the following morning and going to class high was a terrible idea.

It had happened once and he still didn’t know how he’d gotten away with it).

* * *

 

It was raining on Friday morning as well but a bit less than on the previous day.

Jae thought about pranking Wonpil to wake him up, like he often did when he had 9ams and his roommate didn’t, but he ended up deciding against it.

He wouldn’t lie, he’d slept well mostly because he’d thought that the lost souls would get Wonpil instead of him. Plus, Wonpil looked _kind of_ cute when he was asleep ( _like a snake disguised as a puppy_ ) so just this once he would let him sleep in peace.

It wasn’t because he was in a particularly good mood this morning that he didn’t prank Wonpil though. When he stepped outside of his room and pulled his pyjama pants up, he noticed that they looked as tender as they felt. But he could move them just fine, so he would just have to suck it up and wait for the pain to go away. It was especially crappy because it felt colder this morning and he didn’t like the cold very much.

“ _Jae-oppa-a-a…_ ” He heard Jimin’s raspy morning voice from the other side of the corridor and waited for her to join him “good morning…did you sleep well?”

_Oppa?_

“Alright, this is new?” He said suspiciously when she hugged him round the middle and rubbed her face on his chest, but hugged her back “What’s the occasion?”

“The fact that you’re so cool” Jimin mumbled still hugging him and rubbing her face on him “and are such a great wingman!”

Jae chuckled and looked down at her with a grin. It felt great to actually hear it with all the words. It did magic to his morning mood. He almost forgot the cold (which could be because Jimin was warm and she was hugging him, but let’s say that the ego massage helped too).

“See, people wouldn’t think you hate me, if you did this more often” he said playfully and she chuckled against his chest “for real though, I’m rooting for you and like, uh” he mused “you also covered for me…” He said before he smiled and saw her smile up at him “But well, thank you, Jae is glad to finally be acknowledged as he deserves.” He joked, petting her hair a little before she got away from him and looked up with a grin.

“I’m not going to argue with that. Just this time.” She added showing him her index finger and smiling.

“I’ll take that.” Jae nodded gravely before he yawned and took a better look at the weather, visible through the windows of the corridor. He casually changed the subject “I hate this weather…it’s so damn cold.” He grumbled and she scrunched her nose.

“I’ll have to agree with you, Cali Boy” she huffed “it’s a pain when it’s raining. Have you gotten a new umbrella yet?”

“Nope.” Jae informed airily and she groaned and he smirked a little “Maybe Yerin will offer us a ride today as well…”

Jimin sighed and looked wistfully at him.

“You say some pretty cool shit sometimes.” She offered and he laughed.

* * *

 

Daylight had a sort of magic that seemed to chase away the fear though. Jae had almost forgotten about how terrified it’d been the previous night on C-floor.

Jae felt like a kid excited for Christmas Day, only it was barely October and it wasn’t really Santa he was looking forward to but an idea that could very well not even work out.

That was the best part; he didn’t really mind if it didn’t work out, because what he was looking forward to wasn’t the outcome, but the attempt itself. It was pretty much just the thrill of trying something that could either be the best thing ever or the worst flop ever.

It was the cheek of it all that appealed to him.

(And he was 99.999% sure that it was because Brian was a _terrible_ influence.)

The rain didn’t seem to be as heavy as the previous day but Jae would swap the cold of the new day for the heavy rain any time.

_(Or rather, just bring back the damn Sun.)_

* * *

 

It’d been a while since Jae and Jimin had had an actual conversation but that wasn’t a problem for them.

They were talking in English over a bowl of cereal in the kitchen and Jae had asked her about her time the previous night. He was happy to see Jimin grin and tell him about her time with Yerin and the others while they were away and almost choked when she told him the story about Brian with the washing machine.

Of course, she’d asked about the details on his adventure with Brian and he’d told her everything he could without it being too obvious for everyone around them. It was kind of hard to have some quality best friend time with people around (even though they probably didn’t understand what they were saying, mind) but that would have to do.

“And on a scale from 1 to 10 how screwed are you?” She asked him cryptically, her voice muffled by the cereal. Jae actually cackled at that, almost choking on his cereal.

 _How screwed was he_ , she asked.

“One hundred.” He laughed “Literally so far gone I’m probably out of the Solar System already.”

Jimin chortled.

“Good luck.” She said but the door to the kitchen suddenly flung open a she blinked, falling silent along with the rest of the _forced_ morning birds.

One of the girls from D-11 (Jae recognised her vaguely) had appeared and she’d caused such an impression on the people in the kitchen that they all looked over in silence.

She had really short hair, which was sticking out in every direction, stomped into the kitchen. She was tiny and was wearing pink bunny pyjamas but the scowl on her face and the look that screamed _‘I didn’t sleep’_ made her a seriously frightful presence. She was grumbling angrily in Mandarin under her breath.

Jae frowned and tried not to laugh, glancing at Jimin who returned a similar look.

Both their Mandarin was weak. Practically non-existent in Jae’s case. They could mostly make out the swear words and it seemed to have something to do with a shitty person.

Jae stifled his laughter and so did Jimin. They weren’t alone, and they connected with another person who was standing there with them and was also chuckling.

A guy (whose name Jae also ignored completely) was pouring himself some coffee and offered to get some for her, also in Mandarin. That seemed to ease some of her rage and she clearly accepted as she walked over and kept on ranting in her mother tongue. The guy winced and looked legitimately sorry before he told her something back and she just shrugged and asked him something which made him chuckle.

Nobody else seemed to get the joke though and Jae was sure that that was what it sounded like when he and his friends talked in English and people around them couldn’t understand the language. It was a bit frustrating, he wouldn’t lie, but it was kind of funny.

* * *

 

“Message from Yerin!” Jimin gasped when they had already gotten their stuff to go to school.

“I got it too.” Jae grinned, looking at his phone and swiping it to open it.

They all had each other’s numbers now and also a group chat on Line. At one point in the previous night, after playing some seriously weird card game Jimin had, that made absolutely no sense and had everyone laugh manically, trying to understand what the hell was happening and why the fuck Kevin had won, Jae had decided that he would create a Line group with everyone called _‘Cthulhu’s Squad’_ because the name of the game was _‘Cthulhu Fluxx: the game that will drive you insane!’_.

Brian had been the translator on duty because the game was in English and the other English-speakers were laughing too much to make themselves useful. He was the last one to give up on trying to understand how that shit worked.

It really had almost driven them insane but it had been a great bonding moment. Jimin had even punched Brian’s arm for laughing when she lost.

 

_Cthulhu’s Squad_

**Baek Yerin**

«I’m also driving to school today! (^_^) If anyone wants a ride, please tell me! »

**Jae**

«*praying hands emoji* Bless you »

**Park Jimin**

«Omg! Yes, please! <3 »

**YoungK**

«Yerin and I are already near the blueprint »

**Baek Yerin**

«We’ll wait for you at the end of D-floor! »

**Jae**

«Did I ever tell you that at first I thought youngk was a reference to Alphaville? »

**YoungK**

«lmao it’s not, but it could be »

 

“Is that how you flirt with him?” Jimin asked him, looking away from her phone and up at the laughing man walking beside her “With references to old music?”

“Possibly.” Jae said politely but he stopped talking when they got the end of the last corridor of D-floor and saw that they were indeed there waiting for them.

South Wing was quite far from the C-floor Jae noticed, musingly. Why had they gone through the trouble of coming all the way there? Jimin and he already knew the way to the parking place (and it couldn’t be _that_ awful during the day). Yerin hadn’t hesitated in saying that they should go to D-floor the previous night and now they were there.

“Hey there” Jae greeted. Brian looked up at him and smiled.

“Hey there, hyung.” He said standing up and picking up his bag “Hi, Jimin!”

“Hi, there.” Jimin smiled looking from him to Yerin who beamed brightly at her “Thanks for giving us a ride again, Yerin.”

“No problem at all.” Yerin gestured with her hand “Again, we’re all going to the same place…” she looked a bit guilty when she smiled “and I don’t like to be alone on C-floor…”

Jae nodded gravely.

(She truly was someone he could agree with.)

“I guess the blueprint is outdated…” Jae mused about the weird blueprint of their building that was on the wall of the entrance floor. Wonpil liked to look at that thing so he’d paid a bit of attention to it too. There was a door to the C-floor from the South Wing represented there.

“Isn’t there a closer way to get to C-floor from your floor?” Jae asked while they walked through some completely empty corridors. Jae hadn’t thought critically about that in his previous escapades on that floor (because he’d had more stuff to worry about, mind).

One of the corridors had windows on one side but nothing on the other. No doors. After that one, there were two more, with nothing on either side but solid beige walls. It was weird but it wasn’t as scary as the rest of C-floor. It felt like a weird _limbo_ between D and C floors.

“There is, technically…” she said, looking at him “but it’s…” she hesitated “locked.”

“Locked?” Jimin asked quirking an eyebrow “Why?”

“We don’t know.” Yerin replied with an uncertain smile.

“And can’t you, like, unlock it?” Jae asked, gesturing with his hand as if unlocking a door, already feeling that he wouldn’t like the answer.

“It’s welded.” Brian explained with a sigh, glancing at him and gesturing as if he was drawing a door in the air “Like, it’s a metal door and it’s been fused to the doorframe.”

Jae was right. He _did not_ like the sound of that at all.

He brought his hands together in prayer.

“ _God_ …” Jimin mumbled and it was indeed to Him that Jae had started praying “why would they do that?”

“We don’t know.” Yerin repeated, uncertainly, and Brian also shrugged.

“Could it have something to do with the fire?” Jimin asked anxiously as Brian pushed the door to another empty corridor.

“I only heard about the fire a while back when we had a floor hang-out.” Brian explained “Yerin is the one who knows the most.”

“I only know what I found out last year…because I have a car and I was creeped out by that floor.” Yerin sighed and shook her head “And it’s not much…it’s mostly stuff the older students told us …and it could be just to scare the younger ones” She added but then she gulped and everyone felt that she didn’t believe it “but they looked serious and everyone just kept avoiding this floor...”

“I demand compensation, man.” Jae grunted and the others chuckled nervously. He was only half-joking though. He should definitely get some compensation for psychological damage.

(They could pay in goods, he wouldn’t mind that.)

“It’s weird…” Yerin said with a sigh “and the warden won’t say anything about it. We tried to contact him about that door but all he says is _‘You’re young. Walking is good for you’.”_

(Jae was definitely not paying that much money to have deal with that shit.)

“ _Forever Young_ ” Brian chuckled a little, looking at Jae grinned at the reference, his apprehension momentarily disappearing.

“You’re seriously nerds.” Jimin chuckled looking up from one to the other “I thought I’d never meet anybody as nerdy as Jae, but I stand corrected.” She declared dramatically as Yerin laughed.

Jae gasped in the rawest outrage and only _a bit of it_ was exaggerated.

“Excuse _you_ ” he breathed “ _Forever Young_ is a classic!”

She smacked his arm with the back of her hand, to make him stop, rolling her eyes.

“Alphaville was a One-Hit Wonder, man.” She countered, shaking her head.

“They _are not_!” Jae retorted pointedly and he was going to start ranting about her lack of musical culture and mention other great classics by Alphaville such as ‘ _Big in Japan_ ’ and ‘ _Sounds like a Melody’_ when Brian joined the argument.

“They weren’t. They have several popular hits along with Forever Young” Brian glanced at Jae with a smile and Jimin was more annoyed with Jae’s triumphant look than she was with the fact that Brian had sided with him. She didn’t say anything and just scrunched her nose a little, shaking her head.

( _Jae won this round.)_

“I only know _Forever Youn_ g as well…” Yerin looked at Jimin who shrugged.

_(But points for Jimin as well.)_

Jae was going to rant about their lack of musical culture when Brian smiled and randomly started singing one of _the least known_ hits.

 _“Oh, we’re moving, we’re falling…”_ He started and he glanced at Jae who felt the chills _“we step into the fire… by the hour of the wolf in a midnight dre-e-am…”_

Jae dramatically raised his arms when he listened to his wonderful voice and realised that he knew the words to this song, which was one of his favourites by Alphaville.

(If that wasn’t a serious connection through the great contemporary classics, he didn’t know what was.)

Jimin looked baffled that he even knew the words to this _obscure_ song. Yerin looked at Jimin who also had no idea what this song was and shrugged.

 _“There’s no reason to hurry…”_ Jae hit the following line and smiled at Brian _“just start that brand-new story…”_

 _“Set it alight”_ Brian continued, gesturing emphatically with his hands shutting his eyes _“we’re head over heels in love… head over heels…”_

Jae felt his heart race when he saw the glint in Brian’s eyes before he heartily sang the following verse.

 _“The ringing of your laughter, o-o-oh, it sounds like a melody…”_ Jae picked it up and his heart was singing along because _yes. Of course_ he was singing it directly to the man smiling at him _“to once forbidden places…oh, we’ll go for a while…”_

_Brian._

Yerin hummed along and Jae grinned, looking at Brian in a daze.

 _“The ringing of your laughter, it sounds like a melody…”_ Brian sang in a wonderful falsetto _“to once forbidden places… we’ll go for a while…”_

Jae didn’t even realise that they’d gotten to the door to the parking place because he was so focused on Brian and the song they were singing together that he barely noticed that they were walking through the dreadful C-floor. Brian seemed to be about as surprised as him.

“Well, now we know how to get rid of the fear…” Yerin chuckled “We’ll just sing down the corridors…”

Jimin shrugged.

“It worked. I couldn’t hear anything but the sound of your voices.” She declared and Brian chortled heartily before smiling softly at Jae.

(Jae almost clutched his chest because of the attack.)

* * *

 

“So, you also took a gap year?” Jimin asked when they were already in the car to go to school.

“Yeah” Yerin confirmed with a smile “I saved up to get my own car and pay for this degree in music.”

“Fair enough.” Jae commented from the backseat “Not everyone takes an entirely different degree before deciding that they want to give Music a go, eh?” He glanced at Brian who chuckled and nodded.

Jae was pleased to find out he hadn’t been the only one to yield under peer-pressure (or family pressure) and take a degree in something he didn’t even like all that much when he’d always known he wanted to be a musician. Sure, he’d gotten his previous degree, but it’d almost killed him. He’d had to combine studying with a part-time job at a Subway and it had been tough to say the least.

(He could make some mean sandwiches now, though.)

“But well, I don’t regret it.” Jae declared, clearing his throat, feeling slightly warm in the face “I wouldn’t have met any of you if I’d tried this earlier, so…” He shrugged airily looking out of the window at the pouring rain, he noticed the smile on Jimin’s face and tried to see if Brian was laughing or something, but he’d also looked to the side and Jae couldn’t see it “even though you’re all snakes…not you, Yerin. You’re cool.”

Yerin chortled and Jae noticed Brian’s shoulders quivering with silent laughter before he turned to him, his face just a little flushed.

“I’m not a snake, though.” Brian reminded him with a grin and Jae winced, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

“Right” He snorted “you’re a _Poison Dart Frog_.” Jae rolled his eyes and snorted. Jimin and Yerin exchanged a confused look before Jimin chuckled and looked back, frowning.

“A _what_?”

“Ask him.” Jae shook his head, gesturing towards his nerdy groupmate “I don’t even know what that is!”

Brian grabbed his phone from his messenger bag and looked up the frog in question. It was a tiny blue frog that looked indeed very poisonous. He showed it to Jimin as well and she chuckled.

“Okay, and what about this frog?” Jimin asked and Brian grinned looking at Jae who looked at Jimin with pursed lips, trying not to laugh.

“Well, I told Brian that he couldn’t be a snake because, well, because snakes don’t try to kill me from a heart attack, like he does.” He told her with a sigh gesturing towards his groupmate who was already losing it “And this nerd remembered that random frog with some weirdly specific poison.”

Jimin burst out laughing before she shook her head. She obviously knew there was more to that than the joke.

“Brian-oppa knows a lot of random trivia!” Yerin chuckled glancing at Jimin for just a second “And when we ask, he always says it’s National Geographic.”

“That’s what he told me!” Jae exclaimed before he looked at Brian who was still losing it in silence but couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed out loud “Explain yourself, Brian Kang!” Jae demanded, pointing at the seat for emphasis and laughing too.

(Mostly because he was laughing too and _it really did sound like a melody._ )

“It’s true, it’s because of National Geographic!” Brian chuckled as he grabbed his phone again.

“But where do you even watch it?” Jimin asked with a frown and a chuckle “We don’t have TVs in our rooms. Do you watch it online?”

“No… I mean…sometimes I watch documentaries but…” He chuckled and got his phone again “Wait.” He snorted as he tapped the email icon to open it. He typed something in the search bar before he silently showed it to Jae.

Jae couldn’t react for a solid five seconds as he read the email confirming Mr Brian Kang’s online subscription to National Geographic’s monthly magazine.

_Three years ago._

“He has an online subscription to National Geographic.” Jae deadpanned at Jimin who was looking back curiously and snorted at the information.

“He has a what?” She chuckled “ _Why?_ ”

That was the real question.

_Why?_

Brian pursed his lips as he pressed the home button on his phone before glancing from Jimin to Jae and snorting.

“It was a dare.” He muttered looking very embarrassed. Jae almost opened the door and threw himself out of it because, seriously “I was, uh, I was a bit drunk.”

_Seriously._

Yerin and Jimin just laughed.

“Well…at least you’re learning things!” Jimin cackled and Brian covered his eyes, lowering his face, clearly embarrassed. Jae thought that he ought to be.

That was _actual money_ he was paying for the sake of some dare when he was drunk.

“But you have to pay for it! Those magazines are expensive!” Jae exclaimed and Brian nodded “Three years man, that’s like” he quickly did the maths in his head “120 US Dollars. Holy shit.”

Brian shut his eyes and pressed them tightly.

“A bit less than that, but…yeah, more or less.” Brian groaned and shook his head, covering his eyes with his hand “I actually like to read it, hyung!” He defended with a chuckle, uncovering his eyes and looking at him “It’s interesting!”

Jae dramatically shook his head and looked out of the window.

(He’d fallen for the nerdiest of nerds and the worst ( _best_ ) part was that he didn’t even regret it.

What had his life come to?)

“I’m really sorry I said you looked like you were brooding, Brian-oppa!” Jimin cackled “That’s so funny!”

She then proceeded to tell Yerin about how she and Jae had thought that Brian looked like he was brooding when he sat alone at school. Yerin thought it was amusing but kind of conceded that it was possible to think that, not knowing how he really was. Plus, some people on the South Wing were genuinely scared of him, so it really wasn’t that unexpected.

“Oh…I just remembered something…” Jae mused frowning a little and chuckling “Park Sungjin said ‘ _tomorrow_ ’…but today isn’t Saturday.” He chuckled looking at Brian who snorted and shook his head “Should I text him to tell him that, just to make sure he doesn’t turn up today?”

“Yeah.” Brian smiled “Do that.”

“Classic Sungjin-oppa…” Yerin smiled with a chuckle “He’s a neat freak, but he can get pretty distracted when he’s happy…” she told them before sighing “it was so good to hear him yesterday…and I’m so excited to watch you perform on Sunday.” She exclaimed and Jimin nodded with a grin.

 

 

**Jae**

**«Hello, Park Sungjin-ssi, yesterday you said tomorrow »**

**«you meant Saturday, right? lol we have classes today »**

**The Legendary One**

_«Hi, Jaehyung-ssi :D »_

_«Ah, yeah, I’m sorry about that »_

_«I meant Saturday of course »_

_«I guess I was too excited haha »_

**«That’s alright »**

**«Just wanted to make sure you didn’t come here waste your time lol »**

**«We’re also very excited to play with the Legend again »**

_«You have to stop joking like that! It’s embarrassing! »_

**«It’s the general opinion, Park Sungjin-ssi »**

**«Please accept it »**

_«Ok, I’m busy now! We’ll talk later! »_

 

 

Jae laughed and told his friends about the messages so that they could all laugh.Then he decided to warn the rest of the gang that their practice would be the following day.

 

_Cthulhu’s Squad_

**Jae**

**«Just wanted you nerds to know that Sungjin-ssi said tomorrow »**

**«But practice is Saturday and not today »**

“They’re not replying, of course.” Jae snorted somewhat bitterly and put his phone away “Lucky bastards are probably still sleeping.”

Brian sighed deeply.

9ams really should be a crime.

* * *

 

The prospect of the concert lingered heavily and Jae could tell that it wasn’t just him.

His leg bouncing would have been stronger that day, if his knees didn’t hurt. It took him a bit of too much pain to stop though. Brian looked a bit fidgety and Jae had a good hunch that it was for that very reason.

 

But despite everything, Jae did didn’t forget about his food on the beautiful sixth day of the month of October.

The day rolled by as peacefully as a rainy Friday can roll by. Even the theory classes felt cooler now that he could sit with Brian even though he didn’t talk at all during classes.

It was great that Brian took notes on printer paper because they could use those to write on and converse without making noise.

(Aside from their occasional snorting followed by throat clearing and coughing because they were _such great actors_.)

Jae didn’t know how he could keep a cool front when Brian casually grabbed one of his printer paper sheets and when the teacher wasn’t looking, brought it under the table, folded and ripped it into a square, got the rectangular bit and folded it to rip it into an even smaller rectangle, and started folding it, while looking up and pretending to be paying attention. Jae could hardly believe what he was witnessing. Brian’s eyes shimmered with the smile he was trying to conceal by tightly pressing his lips together when he glanced at Jae.

It was a frog, Jae realised when he saw Brian fold the last bit against his thigh.

_Brian had randomly folded a damn frog._

Brian checked if the teacher was still not looking at them, before he put the frog on the desk and pressed its butt with his pinkie finger. It did a little somersault and fell on its little paper feet. Brian looked at Jae looking serious despite his smiling eyes.

_Ay._

Jae pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, covering his mouth and looking up to try and keep it cool.

When Jae tried to do it as well, press the butt of the frog to get it to do the same trick, he probably applied too much force because it hopped ahead and off the desk, hitting Mark Tuan’s back.

Mark looked back with a frown and saw their supressed laughter before he looked at the floor and saw the fallen animal. He picked it up and returned it to them, with a little judgemental head shake and a snort.

Jae didn’t care about the judging and he finally cooled down, he grabbed the frog, shoving it in his pencil case.

**«I’m keeping it. His name is Paco »**

Brian shut his eyes and squeezed them, trying to keep a serious face.

_«I can make Paco a sibling so that he doesn’t feel lonely »_

Jae felt a bit numb from how fast his heart was beating.

_Brian._

Jae saw him grab the big square he’d put aside before and bring it under the table as well. He made something else this time and Jae had a tough time figuring out what it was until it was done. It had wings.

**«Why is Paco’s sibling a moth? »**

Brian looked mildly disconcerted before he snorted a little.

_«It’s supposed to be a butterfly but I guess it can be both »_

Jae felt a bit bad for guessing it wrong but Brian didn’t seem to be upset about it.

«It can be whatever it wants to be. No shaming. Does it do any tricks? »

Brian shook his head and Jae was a bit disheartened but grabbed it and folded it before stuffing it in his pencil case along with _Paco,_ before he started writing on their conversation sheet again.

**«His name is Rick. He was adopted by Paco’s family after 10 years in an orphanage because this world is cruel and nobody would adopt the unfortunate hybrid of a moth and a butterfly that didn’t do any tricks. A very sad story with a happy ending »**

Brian put his elbows on the desk and Jae saw his shoulders trembling when he covered his laughing face.

Jae couldn’t help grinning too because he’d done that. He’d made _Brian_ laugh during class. He’d gotten Brian to act silly in class.

And he wanted to tell him how he felt so bad it hurt. If he wouldn’t pick up the signs, he had to find a way to make him understand.

(Maybe by _actually telling_ him.

That was a pretty reasonable plan.)

* * *

 

Well, it didn’t look like they’d need an Ark to save themselves from _The Flood_ and that was a good thing. Yerin had told them that she would finish classes at six, like in the previous day, and it was the same for Jimin but Brian and Jae finished at four. It was alright to wait though because Jae usually stayed behind to practice on Fridays anyway.

It would be even better this Friday because he wouldn’t be alone.

_Brian._

“I don’t know why they don’t let us bring our own instruments.” Brian commented when they sat in their empty practice room after they’d dropped by the cafeteria for him to buy his mid-afternoon snack and Jae grabbed his sandwiches, his biscuits and his water canteen.

Jae shrugged and snorted.

“Maybe they don’t want people serenading others in the hallways?” He suggested and Brian chuckled into his sandwich.

“Fair enough.”

“I imagine that there would be a bunch of dorks sitting around with their guitars trying to pick up the chicks with half-assed renditions of _Wonderwall_.” He joked and Brian actually threw his head back laughing.

“Don’t get me wrong” Jae proceeded “That is a great song, but it wouldn’t pick _me_ up.” He casually said, “You would have to be a little more creative to get _The Jae_.” He said in faux haughtiness as Brian cackled.

“Is that so?” Brian hummed and then he fell silent “What would pick you up then?” He asked with a cheeky smile as he finished his juice.

Jae snorted and glanced at him.

It was now or never.

(And knowing that in about two days they would be performing in front of a public with a band, after practicing for maybe a couple hours, filled him with an unusual amount of nerve because nothing could be scarier than that.

He felt _daring_.

 _Unafraid_.)

“Why d’you ask?” He asked with a little smirk and a wink “Would you like to pick _this_ up?” He pointed at himself and Brian, well, Brian was either playing along or Jae really was scared for nothing, because he just shrugged and grinned at him, his cheeks going a soft shade of pink.

“Maybe?” He simply said and Jae almost choked on his food, looking at him with wide eyes “Not that I think I would be worthy, of course.” He bowed a little, humbly, and Jae snorted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He hesitated a bit before he sent it all to hell.

(Okay, maybe not _that_ unafraid but he got this.

 _He got this_.)

“You go on about people’s lack of confidence, but it feels like you could also use a bit more of it.” He said before he sighed “You wouldn’t just be worthy, you, you would be _ideal_.” Jae heard himself say with a chuckle and he was glad he sounded casual because he immediately felt a painful pang and his heart raced. He braced himself.

Brian didn’t say anything and Jae actually held his look when he looked at him, with wide eyes before he saw his face light up in a grin that reached his eyes and Jae swallowed hard.

_Ay, corazón._

“I’m not sure what you mean but that has…” he paused and licked his lips “that has a nice ring to it.” Brian declared before Jae could gather the damn guts to actually do what so dearly wanted to do and stood up from the chair he was sitting on.

“I also don’t know what you mean by that.” Jae said back and looked up at him with a little smile, his heart racing wildly in his chest and a familiar warmth pooling in his stomach.

_Anticipation._

Jae saw him walk over to the guitars and pick up one before walking back to where he was still sitting, trying to finish eating his snacks, and dragged the chair he’d been sitting on so that it would be facing Jae.

Jae just stared when Brian sat on the chair and crossed his legs with the guitar in his arms, resting on his lap. He looked up at him with a smile as soft as a marshmallow. Jae just gawked like an idiot.

_Dios._

What was that impulsive guy up to now?

He tuned the guitar and he struck the strings before he started playing for real. It didn’t sound familiar at first because it seemed to be a personal arrangement.

When Jae finally realised what it was, he almost pissed his pants.

_(@God Am I being trolled for all the rick-rolls I’ve pulled on my friends throughout the years? Is this because I have done nothing but send memes to the group chat all day?)_

“D-dude…” He wheezed, clutching his chest as Brian beamed brightly at him “ _No_ …don’t do it…”

But Brian did, of course.

“ _We’re no strangers to lo-o-ove_ …” Brian started and Jae honest to God wanted to offer him an Oscar for not losing it.

 _His voice though_.

“ _You know the rules…and so do I…_ ”

Brian Kang rick-rolled Jae so hard that he barely knew what hit him.

“ _A full commitment is what I’m thinking of…”_ Brian played with gusto, looking at Jae every so often “ _you wouldn’t get this from any other guy…”_ He shook his head for emphasis and flashed him with a toothy grin.

(Do you think it’s impossible to blush like an idiot and almost cry upon being _serenaded_ with Rick Astley’s _Never Gonna Give You Up_ because it’s such an overused meme and such a cheesy song? That’s because you’ve never heard an indie-like acoustic cover sung by Brian Kang. That’s because you’re not head over heels for the damn nerd.

That is because you haven’t just been _sort of_ assured that what you feel for the person you’re _in love with_ isn’t one-sided and you’re dying to get your hands on them.

Jae felt like his heart would come out his mouth and feared that he would die for real before ever getting the chance to.)

 _“I…just wanna tell you how I’m fe-e-eling…gotta make you…understand…”_ He sang softly and in a deep voice.

What killed Jae was the little wink on ‘ _understand_ ’ followed by a blush-y smile.

Jae covered his face with both hands, laughing breathlessly, and tilted his head back, looking at the cork covered ceiling between his fingers. His heart was coming out of his mouth because of a _fucking meme_ song by a _definitely_ One-Hit Wonder.                                                                        

_“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and… desert yo-o-o-ou…”_

It sounded so good but Jae couldn’t stop laughing. Brian was very committed to the song though because he just smiled softly.

_“Never gonna make you cry, never gonna sa-a-ay goodbye…never gonna tell a lie, and hurt yo-o-ou…”_

_Brian._

_"We've known each other for so long...your heart's been aching, but... you're too shy to say it"_ He looked meaningfully at Jae _"Inside, we both know what's been going on...we know the game and we're gonna play it..."_

 _"A-a-nd if you ask me how I'm feeling...don't tell me you're too... blind to see..."_ He winked again and smiled from ear to ear and Jae just wanted to cry.

Brian took it to the end and Jae was a fucking nerd as well, because he’d loved the rendition despite the _level of meme_.

The lyrics were honestly _relatable_ ( _God save him, for he was probably losing his mind_ ).

Jae thought he wouldn’t make it to the end without taking the guitar out of the way and pulling Brian over to kiss the hell out of him, but he did, and he mentally patted himself in the back for his self-control.

“Would that work with you, Jae?” Brian asked Jae with a grin and Jae looked at him, noticing the grin and the pink glow on his beautiful cheeks.

Jae almost screamed thanking God for having a sense of humour while blessing him with this man’s affections.

“I can’t, I cannot _believe_ I have been played in my own game like this.” He breathed and Brian chortled “Is this still 2008?” He asked wistfully.

Brian didn’t say anything to that and just chortled with a grin. Jae breathed heavily and licked his lips before he looked up at the ceiling and hoped that he had indeed gotten his prayers answered and wasn’t interpreted that all wrong.

“Yes, it would work.” He avowed pointedly “You meme me, you have me.” He added with a chuckle “But you…” he sighed and smiled as he looked back down at him, at his clearly expectant look “you don’t have to serenade me to pick me up, Brian.”

He felt like he could have flown when he saw Brian widen his eyes and part his lips, gaping at him.

Jae almost heard the angels sing.

(Well, he kind of just had, but that was beyond the point).

It wasn’t up for interpretation anymore.

_(Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus.)_

“I…” Brian swallowed and he breathed heavily when his _fucking phone started ringing_ in his bloody pocket “can’t believe my phone is ringing right now.”

Jae couldn’t either.

(His life really was the worst drama in the world with the best-looking actors out there because _what the fuck_?)

“Hello, Dowoonie, what’s up?” Brian said when he picked up and Jae could see his unimpressed look transform into worry before he looked at Jae.

Jae had the feeling that Wonpil was involved in the _confession-block_ that had just happened and huffed.

“Are you sure? Have you tried calling him?” Silence, still looking at Jae “The door to his room is open.” He nodded and frowned “So you actually saw in the roo- Dowoonie, calm down, please. I’m sure that nothing…” He was clearly struggling “Look, I’m sure that nothing happened to him, he…” He covered his mouth and Jae definitely had a bad feeling now and he was starting to feel anxious “okay, the phone doesn’t work, says it’s out of range. But that doesn’t mean…” pause again and Jae saw Brian look worried “why would he do that?” pause again, Jae was 100% sure it was because of Wonpil and some serious bullshit he’d pulled “Look, we’ll…we’ll actually have, have to go through it because we’re, we’re getting a ride from Yerin-ya” he stammered noticeably and bit his lower lip “wait for us, okay?” Pause “Don’t go there alone, please, I’m seriously concerned about that place and… please Dowoonie, I’ll worry!” He said pointedly and he clearly didn’t like whatever Dowoon was saying to him because Jae saw him widen his eyes and look wildly at him “What will you do with the hammer!?” He gasped and Jae gasped too because he was living it through Brian’s expressions and _what, a hammer!?_

He put his hands on Brian’s knees and leaned over to try and figure out what the fuck Wonpil had done that had Dowoon want to get a damn hammer “Dowoonie! Dowoon- _shit,_ he hung up on me!” Brian exclaimed getting the phone away from his ear and looking at Jae who was looking up at him.

“What the hell did Wonpil do?” Jae asked and Brian pressed his hands together with his phone still between them, bringing them closer to his face before he shrugged and looked at Jae.

“I don’t know.” Brian sighed heavily “Dowoon was worried about him because he’d told him that he wanted to find the parking place because, because he was curious and, and now he couldn’t find him anywhere.” Brian tried to explain and rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

Jae’s heart raced and he stared blankly at Brian for a solid three seconds. He was going to cry if the ghosts had actually claimed Wonpil’s soul.

“Don’t tell me he went sniffing around on C-floor alone.”

“It seems like it.” Brian gulped and groaned “I don’t trust that floor, I don’t know if it’s actually haunted or not, but either way… I’m worried.”

Jae’s mind reeled and he was already mentally scolding Wonpil for being too curious for his own good.

And he just had a feeling that it was because of that weird blueprint. He’d told him the previous night that he’d never seen the East door or the parking place on that shitty, _very old_ , plan of their dorm.

“He’s such a moron.” He scowled, huffing “We gotta wait for Yerin and Jimin though.” Jae winced, rubbing his temples and unconsciously shifted to English “ _Fuck,_ I’ll feel bad for the rest of my days if the damned souls possess him or, or some shit.” He whimpered and Brian looked at him “I was scared to sleep tonight” Jae confessed “and I thought that it would be fine because Wonpil would be there and they, they could possess him instead.”

Brian snorted but he shook his head.

“That’s not funny, it’s just the way you said it.” Brian explained and Jae snorted too, nodding.

“I’ve been told that” he said and he chuckled nervously “but I mean it, I will feel guilty.” Brian scoffed and shrugged hopelessly.

“Well, I don’t know what to say to you, Jae. Dowoon said Wonpil has been missing for about two hours.”

Jae stopped again, staring at him, being hit with another sudden realisation.

“Don’t tell me Dowoon went there with a hammer to find Wonpil.” Jae deadpanned and Brian shook his head, ruffling his own hair.

“I’m not sure if we really have to be worried about Dowoon and Wonpil, to be honest.” Brian chuckled half-heartedly “Maybe the ghosts or whatever is on that floor are in more danger.”

Jae quirked an eyebrow and leaned back.

“What do you mean?”

Brian snorted.

“I mean that I’d never heard Dowoon sound so angry and he can get pretty intense when he’s serious.” He pursed his lips and nodded gravely “Especially, especially if it’s because of Wonpil.” He added with a sigh.

Jae blinked and could hardly believe it but Brian had to know what he was talking about, since he was his roommate.

(It was like him with Wonpil. Most people didn’t think he could be a little shit because he looked so cute, but Jae knew better.)

However, despite all that banter, he still didn’t want anything bad to happen to his damn roommate.

He didn’t even feel that nervous about the fact that he was in love with Brian anymore.

Like, _legit._

(Now he was just mad at Wonpil for worrying everyone with his reckless antics. He was mad at that snaky little shit for finding an unexpected and _possibly_ unintentional way to disturb the sanctity of that grand moment after Brian confessed to him with Rick Astley.

 _That shit was unforgivable_.)

Unrelated (actually kind of related), but Jae got just a tad madder upon hearing that because he was sure that Wonpil liked Dowoon. Like at least 99% sure. Granted, he hadn’t told him anything conclusive when he’d asked about his intentions towards the younger tenant of SW-10, but Jae just had a mighty hunch. He’d just told him that his intentions were pure and respectful and that, in Jae’s opinion, could be interpreted in _many ways_.

(Especially considering that Wonpil had tricked Dowoon into platonically sleeping with him. Like, _come on_.)

And now Dowoon was looking for him with a hammer, like the hybrid of Thor with Sir Lancelot or some shit. The mix of anger, concern and mild _(very mild)_ amusement almost made him forget that he could not _(would not)_ leave the confession halfway, despite the interruption.

“ _That idiot._ ” Jae scowled “I hope that he gets the fright of his life!”

Brian shook his head and sighed.

“I hope Dowoon doesn’t do something irresponsible.” He pursed his lips and Jae groaned as he got up to get a guitar for himself.

“We gotta wait for Jimin and Yerin.” Jae huffed when he sat back down with the guitar. He’d picked the shittiest, most battered one without noticing but fuck it now, his knees hurt and he didn’t want to get another one. This one would have to do.

“We do.” Brian smiled a little.

“And we still have like an hour and half before they’re done with classes.” Jae said checking the time on Brian’s wristwatch. Brian nodded again.

“Yes.”

Jae was getting there.

“Freaking out will not help at all.” He declared pointedly.

“Freaking out will not help at all.” Brian repeated shaking his head “We’re too far and it’s raining again.”

Jae nodded feeling emboldened by the empathy created by Brian repeating what he was saying.

He _would_ do it.

“And we were talking about something before you got that damn call.”

“Yes, we were.” Brian smiled a little and Jae saw that he also wanted to get the subject back. Jae nodded and licked his lips, very pleased with his reaction.

“I like that look because I was about to tell you that you don’t have to, to try to pick me up because” he paused emphatically, staring at him, feeling his chest go numb and his throat dry out but ignoring the shit out of it “excuse my French, but I have it so fucking bad for you, that if you told me that I should dye my hair bright blue because, because Hades from Disney’s Hercules was fashionable, I would probably do it.” He declared, feeling his face get warm and taking both his hands up to try to rub it away but he saw that Brian’s whole face was glowing with his smile and his flaming red cheeks, so decided that it was alright “I thought…I thought that the thing I had for you would go away after a while but…guess what?” he shrugged and opened his arms, balancing the guitar on his thighs and his forearm, with a defeated smile “It didn’t go away at all and after we became partners in crime it only got worse!”

“It got worse.” Brian repeated with a chuckle, looking down and Jae sighed.

“It got worse.” Jae repeated, ruffling his own hair with one hand and snorting “Worse because I didn’t know what to do about it and I didn’t know if, if you felt the same or something” he shrugged and saw Brian look back up with a smile “and I was scared because I like to be with you and I, well, I didn’t know you that well, did I?”

Brian chortled.

“Well…” Brian started, his whole face red but glowing with his smile _(so damn tempting, Jesus Christ)_ “same… I wasn’t sure… I was, I was just kind of curious before we actually started talking and it turned out…” he paused and his eyes shone when they met Jae’s “it turned out that I wanted you.”

Jae widened his eyes at him and almost stopped breathing. Jae felt like something warm had just exploded in his chest (and thankfully it wasn’t his heart going off for real, because that would have been the saddest story ever) and it was as if something softer and less deadly than lava, but about as scorching, had streamed from his chest to the rest of his body.

Brian really didn’t save on the honesty.

_‘I wanted you’_

That sounded _so good._

“I’m a nerd though.” Brian said with a smile that made Jae’s stomach feel like it was training for the next Olympics.

“A nerd that kicks the breath right out of my damn lungs with three words.” Jae snorted as he pulled out the score for the song they had to practice from his bag before clearing his throat. “And I told you the first day we started talking. Nothing wrong about being a wholesome _National Geographic_ nerd.” He smiled.

Brian laughed out loud and the acoustic of that room was really amazing because it sounded like something worth recording.

“I thought about talking to you plenty of times...” Brian confessed, licking his lips again and shaking his head, almost ashamed and Jae cut that short, raising his hand to sign him that he shouldn’t keep going.

“You told me that, that’s old news. I know we were dumb. Next topic” Jae said, waving it off because just the thought of their stupid dance around each other that had lasted for months made him cringe. Brian laughed heartily before he struck back.

“No, but…” Brian continued because honest and open communication really seemed to be paramount to him, much to Jae’s dismay, since what he wanted to get his hands on him more than he wanted the details on how stupid they actually were “when I saw you look at me I…I really thought that maybe you just thought that I had a funny face or something like that…since I’d done nothing to make you hate me…I think.” He added looking at him in the eyes with a little apologetic smile.

Jae couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

_‘I’d done nothing to make you hate me.’_

“At least I don’t feel that bad about being an idiot, because Jesus Christ, man.” Jae scowled and he got honest to God a bit mad and dragged his chair forward, his guitar swaying dangerously on his own lap. The guitar Brian was using was still on his lap when Jae got his hands on the collar of his sweater and got a handful of it, two handfuls of it, and pulled him closer.

It would have been the perfect dramatic first kiss if, but it barely even happened, because Jae forgot that each of them had one entire acoustic guitar on their laps and the poor instruments were quite big, so when he pulled Brian towards him the guitars collided loudly, echoing through the room.

The sickly and unmistakable sound of snapping strings filled his ears. He gasped, looking at the guitars.

“Oh _fuck._ ” Brian muttered with a snort.

In Jae’s defence, the guitar he’d picked was already halfway to the bin and that was the one they broke with the collision. Brian’s was fine.

“ _Shit_.” Jae whispered, before he chuckled and looking up at Brian who followed his eyes from the destroyed guitar until their eyes met. Brian grinned at him, his cheeks glowing red and more beautiful than ever, especially up close “We’ll just put it back…” He muttered gravely and Brian nodded.

“And pretend we don’t know what happened.” Brian finished his thought for him and Jae just casually let go of his sweater and grabbed the remains of the broken guitar and put them on the floor. He kicked it away and watched it slide spectacularly against the wall by the other guitars as Brian laughed heartily before Jae looked dramatically at him.

“You didn’t see anything.” He muttered and Brian shook his head, doing the zipper on his mouth sign.

“Yes, sir, I mean, no, sir!"Brian saluted with a grin and Jae covered his teeth with his lips because he’d gotten the reference.

(The connection was real and beautiful.)

Jae decided that maybe that was a divine sign that he wasn’t cut for dramatic kisses.

(They probably didn’t fit in the low budget of the shitty drama his life had become.)

He just sighed and shot Brian a very unimpressed look

“‘ _Oh, I think I’d done nothing to hate you’_ ” Jae did a very poor imitation of Brian and it was very poor indeed because Brian frowned and chortled.

“I really did nothing to hate you. That’s why I fell for you.” Brian grinned and Jae huffed, clicking his tongue when he realised he’d messed that up.

“ _Whatever._ ” He scowled “Don’t judge, I’m stressed. _You_ stress me.” He defended “I am judging you though.” He pointed an accusatory finger at him “Because why the _everliving_ fuck would I hate you, man?” He scoffed and Brian grinned.

“I don’t know…” Brian said “sometimes people hate others for no reason…”

Jae ignored that and shrugged.

“Maybe I could hate you because I’m _pretty_ sure you’re melting off the polar ice caps.” He declared.

Brian tilted his head to the side and smiled, clearly bewildered. Jae nodded, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, with that smile, precisely. Or any of your smiles, to be honest.” Brian laughed at the joke but Jae added more fuel to the fire because Brian’s laugh helped him chill out and joking his way out of things was his jam “Yeah, I want to see you laugh when I call Greenpeace on your ass, Mr Dazzling Smile.”

Brian cackled and Jae snorted a little, shaking his head.

It was still kind of unbelievable how easy it’d been to confess to Brian, how easily he’d confessed back, how easy it’d been to smash a guitar while trying to kiss him.

_(Rest in literal pieces.)_

He’d literally been worried over nothing and he could only thank the fact that they would give a crazy concert in two days for chasing the fear away.

(Well, that fear. Wonpil’s disappearance had replaced the fear of that concert with a whole new sort of fear, _a lot worse_ than that one.

What was making a fool of himself in front of an unknown audience compared to possibly losing a friend to damned souls?)

“Damn Wonpil…I hope I don’t have to end up being sedated in a police station because he’s dead” Jae huffed looking over at Brian who snorted at _the joke_ “this stays between us” he said dramatically “but I actually like him… _just a little_.” He scrunched his nose and clicked his tongue “I don’t know why though.”

Brian smiled at him, looking _terribly_ like he already knew that particular piece of information, and nodded.

“Your secret is safe with me, hyung.” He promised “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Let’s trust Dowoonie.”

Jae wasn’t so sure if they should trust Dowoon when he was most definitely already pulling a Thor and running down the corridors of their dorm with a hammer, but okay.

It was good to know that something was being done to find his dumb roommate.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the ultimate confession song doesn't need a link but i'll [ add it anyway ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ). willingly rick-roll yourself like i've done all afternoon lmao  
> and [ the other Alphaville hit ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etLlmAn7HYc). i recommend that you watch the mv as well because 80s new wave mvs are beautiful. by e)


	10. Hammering it home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There is nothing so stable as change."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, here we are again!  
> i hope everyone is doing well in this post day 6 (I sure have cried my share already and have been emotional for the last couple of days because of the anniversary dinner party. our boys are so soft. #blessedaf)
> 
> anyway, this chapter took a while both because it was something completely different from the last 9 chapters and also because 'I loved you' happened and 'I'll remember' also happened /lies down/ also, i said on the first chapter that this would have 'at least' 10 chapters lmao it will probably have another three (idk how this stuff gets so long in the final edit, i swear)
> 
> in this chapter: Dowoon's pov, Donpil's backstory (in this AU of course lol), loads of pining, fear of change, more banter and terrible jokes, Dowoon meets the ghosts and then yells himself hoarse (but then he... hammers it home lmao im sorry) there are more terrible confessions and general weird shit bc that's what i do, and there must be some consistency in here /SHOT  
> ah, this is a fully Donpil chapter btw. jaehyungparkian returns in the next one
> 
> right, so, 'scuse mistakes and stuff and I hope you enjoy this like, idk, i just felt like doing it this way lel /sweats
> 
> once again, thank u for all the support and hopefully u won't be disappointed /cue dramatic wind

* * *

Dowoon wasn't a particular confrontational person but when his loved ones were involved, he just lost all sense of reason.

(It was a good thing that nobody crossed his mind during his rampage with the hammer.)

Like, he didn't think there were ghosts on C-floor. That wasn't it. He just thought that something bad had happened to him, in general.

He’d never really believed in stuff about ghosts and that kind of thing. It sounded like something that you’d tell your friends with a torch lit under your chin to cast some shadows and make it sound scary. 

Plus, he’d been to C-floor looked just like D-floor, only in a different direction and a lot more silent.

It wasn’t even surprising that he or any of his friends had ever met a person from C-floor.

(Why should it be? That dorm was _immense_. He’d never met anybody from the North Wing either.)

 _Please,_ he’d been studying there for half a year and he barely knew all the people on his own damn floor. The only people from another floor he’d befriended had been the three guys from D-floor who happened to be taking the same degree as him and were in the same group. He’d never even met Jae, even though he was Wonpil’s roommate despite having been in their room loads of times.

The only bit about those stories that had really interested him had been the fire that had killed people in the past, but other than that?

C-floor was just another floor.

For real, he’d pretty much forgotten all about that crazy stuff after Sungjin called Jae to ask them to play together again. He got so pumped because of it that the thought that they would be playing in front of an audience after practicing for seven hours tops didn’t scare him at all.

 _Well,_ it didn’t scare until later when he was already lying in bed and realised that the drummer was the one that led the band and that _he_ was the drummer.

If _he_ messed up, it would screw everyone over and would never forgive himself for it.

He wanted to show off his skills, the skills he’d been honing for years, practicing whenever he got the chance to, but he was a bit scared of screwing up because he was too confident or something and having everyone laugh at him.

Brian always praised him and told him he was amazing at the drums and even singing (something he was still _very_ unsure about) and Dowoon wouldn’t admit it, but praise was very important to him.

He liked to hear others say he was doing well even when he thought so himself. It wasn’t like he needed to have his ego rubbed all the time or anything it was just, like… the _reassurance_ felt nice.

(Deep down, he knew that what he had to do for it to go well was suck up his insecurities and play with his heart, like he’d always done.)

* * *

 

The guy from SW-7 was in the kitchen when Dowoon got there in the morning and he jumped at the sight of him, looking wildly around.

He looked less jumpy when he saw that it was just Dowoon, but he was clearly not very happy to see him. Dowoon didn’t mind it though and he politely nodded in the guy’s general direction. The guy quickly finished his breakfast before leaving.

That guy was one of the assholes that didn’t empty the bins at the beginning of the school year. He had used the fact that he wasn’t Korean to excuse himself for not reading the rota. Brian had _kindly_ offered to teach him how to read and he’d promptly refused, saying that he would work harder.

He’d been avoiding both tenants of SW-10 ever since.

Ah, but South Wing’s kitchen was a lovely place to be at when you were Brian’s friend and _especially_ when you were his roommate. Dowoon couldn’t help grinning a little as he got his breakfast ready.

One of Brian’s notes was still stuck on the fridge.

It just read ‘RESPECT’, big and clear.

It was a reminder.

That kitchen wasn’t perfect, of course. The countertops were nasty sometimes, but nothing else had ever disappeared from there since Brian had chucked everyone’s food in the bin _and_ threatened them with _something worse_. The bins had also started being religiously emptied when they were full, since he had started reminding people of their duty.

Dowoon really admired Brian for making everyone be respectful of the other residents.

It was a good thing that he’d left because Dowoon felt like being alone, since he didn’t feel like talking and he wanted to think.

He sat at the breakfast bar they had there in front of the window and looked outside at the pouring rain as he ate his toast and drank his chocolate milk.

It didn’t look as rainy as the previous day but it was still pretty annoying. He’d dumbly wore converses the previous day and got his feet soaked because of it.

He could almost hear his mum scolding him for being _a fool_ and that he could get _ill_. Wonpil did a pretty good job at impersonating his mum though and he’d had to go back to get some decent shoes because he wouldn’t let him get ill.

(His mum made delicious soup and he remembered it especially from when he was ill.

He missed home a lot but he couldn’t really complain much.)

 

**Wonpil**

_«Good morning! I’m waiting for you by the blueprint_ (^_^) _»_

_«Don’t wear converses, you fool >:( »_

**Dowoon**

«hi »

«I’m actually going shoeless today »

«For that natural feeling ;D »

_«I’ll kick your butt ): < »_

 

Wonpil was indeed waiting for him by the blueprint and his eyes immediately fell on his feet after he smiled at him.

Dowoon grinned before he tripped, seeing Wonpil widen his eyes and hop off the bench and rush to him. Dowoon held on to him last moment and it was only for a matter of seconds that he didn’t fall.

“Thanks!” Dowoon chuckled, frowning at his own feet when he let go of Wonpil “What happened?”

“Your laces are undone again.” Wonpil scolded, placing his hands on his hips as Dowoon laughed “It’s not funny, you could have gotten hurt!”

“Hey, it’s fine.” Dowoon chuckled sitting down on the bench to do his laces “You caught me. Don’t get mad.”

“I’m not mad.” Wonpil told him with a sigh before chuckling “I’m just, you stress me out sometimes.”

“I did them this time.” Dowoon snorted looking up at him as he tied his laces “They probably just went undone on their own.”

“Double knot them, then.” Wonpil advised, looking at Dowoon’s feet “And put the laces inside the shoes... like, no not like that, let me, just let me do it.” Wonpil sighed and shook his head, getting down on one knee in front of him. Dowoon rolled his eyes a little and chuckled when Wonpil pulled his hands away and undid his shoelaces again before tying them up and doing what he’d advised him to do.

“’morning… what’s going on here?” Someone snorted from behind them and Dowoon looked at the stairs, seeing JB and Jinyoung standing there and looking at them with puzzled looks.

“Can’t tie your laces, Dowoonie?” JB chuckled and Jinyoung shook his head.

Dowoon scrunched his nose and somehow that pissed him off just a bit more than it should have.

“Uh... of course I can, it’s just... it’s Wonpil that... he didn’t wait for me to, to...” he felt his whole face burn up to his ears “I could have done that myself.” Dowoon pursed his lips and huffed looking down at him when he finished tying his laces. He hadn’t had the guts to tell him off when he looked up at him halfway through with that sweet smile of his “I know how to tie my laces, okay?” He grumbled at the two boys who laughed.

Wonpil smiled and stood up, reaching his hand to pull him up as well. Dowoon huffed but he accepted the hand. 

“I’ve just noticed…” JB said and they looked at him. JB was looking at the blueprint and frowning, looking at a spot between C-floor and the South Wing “There’s a door between the South Wing and the C-floor?”

“Is there?” Jinyoung squinted curiously at the old plan, looking at where his roommate was pointing “Oh, you’re right.”

Dowoon had never really paid attention to the weird blueprint of the building on the entrance floor. He just knew it was from the 60s.

It was big and took up most of the wall right in front of the door when you walked into the building. There was a door to the corridor that led up to the North Wing to the left of it and stairs to the right, that led down to the floor with the common room and D-floor right after that one. To get to the C-floor you had to go through D-floor and walk along some weird corridors. To get to the South Wing you had to take the door to the corridor to the right. There was also a door connecting the South Wing to C-floor represented on the blueprint, as JB had well pointed out.

“There is.” Wonpil nodded before he looked back at Dowoon.

“There’s not.” Dowoon frowned and they looked at him, puzzled “I mean, there is but it’s, uh, like, you know” he couldn’t remember what it was called and the frustration caused by the lapse made him momentarily forget that he was a little upset. He gestured hopelessly with his hands and it was clear that _no, they didn’t know_ “uh, you know _that thing_.” He gestured as if he were holding a welder and JB frowned, snorting “the thing you use to, to like, it’s hot and it melts stuff?” He tried looking at them. Jinyoung looked as bewildered as his roommate.

“No? What do you mean?”

Dowoon rubbed his own eyes and fluffed his already fluffy hair.

“Calm down.” Wonpil asked softly and it didn’t help at all.

“I am calm.” He exclaimed looking at him and he regretted when Jinyoung and JB gasped in surprise “I’m, I’m sorry I yelled, I… look” he tried to shake it off by focusing on explaining what he meant “when you have a metal thing” he started again, gesturing with his hands and the two boys hummed “right, so you have a metal thing, and then you have another metal thing, right?” The nodded “Okay, so, like, you want to stick one to the other.” The frowned but he kept going, eagerly “there’s this thing, this thing you use to melt the metal so that, like, the two things melt into each other and…” he saw their bewildered looks and was ready to give up.

“A welder?” Wonpil tried and Dowoon gasped, pointing at him with a grin. JB groaned when he remembered too.

“Yes! A welder! That’s it!” Dowoon exclaimed and Wonpil shook his head “The door to, the, the South Wing from the C-floor is welded. It’s welded, it’s like, the door is fused to the frame and we can’t use it.”

“Oh” Jinyoung chortled “I would have never guessed. I’ve never seen one of those.”

“Why is it welded though?” JB asked and Dowoon had no clue.

“Uh… no clue.” He shrugged “It’s always been like that since I started living here” he told them “that’s why I always have to come here to, to… well, when we meet here”  the words were all failing him which only made him feel more upset “I have to, I can’t take that door, not that I, that I would…” he snorted a little before sighing “it’s farther than, like, going all the way from down there.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

"You never told me this." Wonpil commented and Dowoon blinked before shrugging.

"You never asked."

"Okay, fair enough." Wonpil chuckled.

“Got it now.” JB chuckled patting his back and making him jolt “but you’re a bit snappy this morning.” He said “You’re gonna give yourself a headache like that.”

Dowoon frowned a little but he remained quiet.

“We’re all catching the bus, right?” Jinyoung asked mildly, checking the time on his phone and the nods were enough for him “Cool. The bus leaves in like, 10 minutes. Enough with this nonsense. Let’s get going”

* * *

 

 

The white noise of the rain against the umbrellas and the chilly wind that grazed his face made Dowoon cool down some.

He still wasn't in the mood for talking though.

They would have walked to the bus stop in complete silence if Jaebum and Jinyoung weren’t chatting with one another and asking Wonpil things. Dowoon wasn’t really paying much attention until they called his name.

“Dowoonie looks like he didn’t sleep well though.” Jinyoung chuckled and Dowoon saw them glancing at him.

“Did you sleep well?” Wonpil asked Dowoon when they were almost there, his voice muffled by the sound of the rain. Dowoon glanced at him and unlike him, Wonpil was good at pulling a neutral expression and it was annoying.

(Also _unfair_ , because Dowoon knew that Wonpil knew he was upset.

It'd always been like that.)

“Talk to us, man.” JB said with a chuckle looking over at Dowoon “Did Brian-hyung snore?”

“Was somebody having sex next door?” Jinyoung asked bitterly and JB groaned, shaking his head.

“Brian-hyung doesn’t snore.” Dowoon snorted shaking his head “And I, yeah, I didn’t sleep too well.” He said and JB laughed, Jinyoung shook his head and smiled “What, what do you mean people having sex next door though?”

JB pulled a disgusted look.

“Our neighbour." He started "It’s just sick, man, it makes you feel sick, you know?” He started looking at Wonpil and Dowoon, who looked puzzled “They do it so much… it’s insane.”

“And it’s nasty.” Jinyoung pursed his lips, shaking his head “Like…” He shivered and JB nodded and rubbed his eyes “ _really weird stuff_.”

“They’re having some crazy sex there, that’s for sure. Do you remember Shrek night?”

“No, please no, I’m scarred for life.” Jinyoung groaned, raising his hand between himself and his roommate “Let’s change the subject for the love of God.”

Wonpil was happy to comply and so was JB. Dowoon chuckled and scrunched his nose when the thought of 'sex' and 'Shrek' really hit him. He didn't want to know the details.

"Those people need help." He shook his head in disgust and Jinyoung nodded, clearly appreciating the sympathy.

“Jae-hyung didn’t sing this morning before he left by the way.” Wonpil said with a grin.

“No way!” JB exclaimed, looking at him with a smile, clearly trying hard to repress the things he’d just remembered “Is he ill!?”

“I don’t think so…” He mused “I did hear him wincing though...”

They all knew that Jae and Wonpil had and open banter war to see who could annoy the other the most and, usually, on days when they didn’t have 9ams and Jae and Brian did, Wonpil started their morning conversations by telling them what song Jae had sang to wake him up. Last Monday had been Enya’s _Only Time_ and Dowoon had to apologise for laughing so hard in the bus.

It was a two-way war though. Jae wasn’t the only one pulling pranks on Wonpil. Wonpil had told them about the time he’d replaced Jae’s shampoo with temporary hair dyeing shampoo. Wonpil had laughed so much he could hardly get his phone to show them the picture he’d taken of him with pink hair.

Wonpil shrugged a little.

“How’s the playlist going?” Jinyoung asked with a smile and Wonpil sighed dramatically.

“I was disappointed that he didn’t give me another song to add to it.” He said and they were all chuckling already “It’s been troublesome because I can’t pick up the words sometimes.”

JB lost it and almost tripped on the pavement when they crossed the pedestrians to get to the bus stop. Dowoon snorted a little and Wonpil glanced at him before smiling from ear to ear.

Dowoon’s heart skipped a beat and he licked his lips, smiling back. He sighed softly before chuckling along.

( _Soothing_.)

“Are you really going to give it to him?” Jinyoung asked Wonpil who grinned and nodded.

“I am.” He said “I’m going to record a mixtape and give it to him as his Christmas present.”

JB tried to contain his laughter when they joined the people at the bus stop, not wanting to bother them.

“Uh...” Dowoon started, clearing his throat “How many songs does it have now?

“It currently has…” He frowned a little, thoughtfully “20 songs, counting with last Monday’s.” He grinned almost proudly “My goal is 25.”

Dowoon chortled and shook his head. He’d tightened his grip on the umbrella’s handle before he sighed softly. He gave the umbrella a vigorous shake to get rid of some of the water.

“I bet he’ll love it!” Jinyoung commented with a grin, checking the bus arrival schedule on the board “He likes that kind of stuff.”

“He better like it.” Wonpil said gravely “Because I’ve actually been buying the songs.” 

Dowoon chortled and pursed his lips, nodding.

(It was the _legal_ thing to do.

Personally, Dowoon had committed a couple crimes because Brian, despite being a very respectful and kind person, was a bit cheeky with that kind of stuff and didn’t dissuade him from doing the same.)

They didn’t get to talk much more about it and the bus was full of people so they didn’t get to sit down. It was weird for it to be that full at that time of the morning though and when Dowoon looked better he realised that there seemed to be a group of people, all with Taekwondo uniforms under their plastic raincoats, with ages ranging from mid-teens to mid-thirties.

It was kind of inconvenient but Dowoon found himself feeling thankful that they were going to wherever they were going and not coming, because he was sure the smell wouldn’t be very pleasant in the second possibility.

“I’m glad they’re going and not coming.” He whispered, groaning a little when he got squeezed against Wonpil, both holding one of the hanging rings to stand upright. Wonpil looked at him with a confused smile.

“ _Sweat._ ” He muttered with a small smile and Wonpil chortled, leaning his head against his shoulder to hide his laughter. Dowoon laughed too but then he fell silent, hoping that he wouldn’t feel his heart beating so fast. The warmth of Wonpil pressed flush against him and the fruity scent of his shampoo made him feel a tad dizzy.

It wasn’t the first time it happened, that kind of contact, not at all.

However, it’d started to _bother_ him a while ago and it was getting harder to manage.

_Ah._

_Specifically,_ when he realised that he liked him as more than just a friend and found that he couldn’t share everything with his best friend. He was scared of losing what they’d had for years.

No, it wasn’t that Dowoon thought that Wonpil would find it weird, to like guys. He knew he didn't.

They went way back and they knew _pretty much_ everything about one another.

Their friendship had, what some would call, _a gross amount of intimacy_.

One afternoon when Dowoon was in his second year of high school, which had been some five years ago, and Wonpil was in his last, they were talking about what kind of features they looked for in a partner. Wonpil had just told him that he didn’t look for any particular features, he just liked people who were strong and fought for what they wanted.

Then he’d just told him he liked men.

It hadn’t fazed Dowoon much, honestly. Maybe it’d surprised him a bit, sure, but it didn’t bother him at all.

_Why should it?_

Wonpil’s sexuality didn’t concern him and it really didn’t change anything between them. Plus, he was really young and his family had never been particularly close-minded, so he really didn't see a problem with that.

“Do you think it’s disgusting?” Wonpil had asked.

“Uh…no? Why would I think that?” Dowoon had replied with a snort and Wonpil had smiled and closed his eyes again, leaving his head on his lap.

And that had been that.

They hadn’t really get into many details about their personal love lives afterwards and nothing changed between them _until_ Wonpil graduated.

After Wonpil graduated, they didn’t get to see each other often and they didn’t talk as much because Wonpil was in university and pretty much driving himself mad.

Dowoon would often stay up late into the night, just listening to him ramble and sometimes cry. Wonpil never said he was unhappy but he didn’t have to.That was the kind of friendship they had.

Dowoon called him an idiot multiple times anyway because they’d become friends through their common love for music and Dowoon had always said that he wanted to pursue it as a career. Wonpil had always been uncertain and in the end, had given in to the thought that he would never get far with music.

Dowoon didn’t give up on him ( _and his potential_ ) and, after his gap year, he talked Wonpil into sending the Engineering stuff to hell and trying music with him.

Wonpil was stubborn and didn’t want to because his family would be disappointed if he gave up after two years but Dowoon was even more stubborn and he nagged him non-stop until he finally relented.

 

That’s how he managed to bring _home_ along to University.

 

Dowoon’s feelings for Wonpil were nothing but platonic, brotherly love for over five years, but a couple months ago, Wonpil had randomly told him that he had a crush on a guy and Dowoon had felt a surge of raw jealousy so strong, that he’d been unable to say something for a solid ten seconds, just staring at him and nodding.

He knew that it was stupid but that's how it'd started.

To make a long story short, he loved Wonpil as more than just a friend and thought he’d been _younger-brotherzoned._

It would be funny, if it didn’t make him feel a little like clawing his eyes out.

The reason he thought that lied both on the fact that Wonpil often referred to him as his cute younger brother and for the longest time Dowoon had also thought about him like a brother.

But well, in the end, they weren’t really brothers, and _shit happens._

It was the most frustrated Dowoon had ever felt in his entire life. He just wanted to _reverse it._ To take it all away, those feelings that could ruin their friendship, think of him as just a brother again.

He wished he could go back to their easy high school days when everything felt like it would last forever.

And he'd already learnt that nothing lasts forever and everything must change but why did it have to change into _something impossible?  
_

 

He had been following Brian's very solid advice and thinking carefully on whether his non-platonic feelings for Wonpil were strong enough for it to be worth risking his friendship with him.

Probably noticing how distressed he was, Brian had kindly asked him about the one time he and Wonpil had actually slept together, and he trusted his roommate so he’d just told him everything, pouring out his frustrations, telling him the whole story, summing up a friendship of almost seven years into just a couple sentences, the feelings he’d been bottling up, how he’d never fallen for a guy before Wonpil, how it was the worst that he’d fallen for his best friend, who had been like a brother to him for years.

He felt so grateful when Brian smiled and patted his shoulder before assuring him that it would be alright that he almost cried.

For one, Brian immediately assured him that he didn’t have to feel ashamed because of that. Then he’d grinned and told him that he liked guys too so he _definitely_ didn’t think it was _awful_.

_(What were the odds?_

Sky-high in an Arts School, Brian had told him, laughing when Dowoon expressed his surprise at the fact that two of his friends weren’t straight.

Dowoon had admitted his unconscious bias afterwards, realising that the odds of someone being straight were probably the same as of them being queer.)

Much to Dowoon dismay, Brian had also laughed when he’d told him that Wonpil just saw him as a brother (despite Dowoon’s _proof_ ) and had suggested that he come clean to him because he really doubted that.

(Dowoon had almost had a heart attack when he’d told him that he’d thought that he and Wonpil were together when he saw them sleeping together that night.

It was _seriously_ completely platonic. It wasn’t the first time it happened either. They’d had that kind of intimate friendship for ages. They’d just never done it in there.)

It had been giving him a damn headache and had made him look distant in the last couple days because it was hard to focus on more than one thing at a time and he couldn’t help thinking about that when he was with Wonpil. Who, having known him for so long, had obviously noticed and asked about it. Dowoon didn’t like to hide things but he’d told him that he was worried about midterms the following week and that had been enough to stop the questions.

_(And it wasn’t a lie, mind.)_

“I wish I had a car too.” Wonpil sighed against his shoulder and Dowoon jolted a little at the sound vibrating against his skin because he was distracted “It would be easier to go to school, wouldn’t it?” He clearly noticed Dowoon’s reaction “Sorry, did I scare you?”

“Uh…yeah…no you, you didn’t I, I was just distracted.” Dowoon snorted and glanced back, there was a guy pressed against his back and he didn’t like it very much “You can’t even drive though.”

“I know.” Wonpil snorted against his shoulder and Dowoon chuckled a little.

“What would you do with the car then?”

“Crash it against a wall.” Wonpil replied and it sounded so serious that Dowoon snickered trying to keep it low because it was rude to be noisy in public transports.

“Don’t do that.” Dowoon mumbled and Wonpil chuckled, slightly getting away and looking at him, smiling softly.

“I don’t even have a car, silly. How could I do that?”

Dowoon chortled and shook his head, remaining silent.

“You know, I was thinking…” Wonpil muttered, frowning “about the blueprint.”

Dowoon, who’d also known Wonpil for many years, wasn’t particularly surprised with the weird theme.

“Why?”

“I think it’s interesting” he said with a shrug “I often look at it and, hm, I really thought there was a door from the South Wing to the C-floor.”

“Uh… well, there is, we just, uh, we just can’t use it.” Dowoon muttered, trying to keep it low because there were many people being squeezed against them along with Jinyoung and Jaebum.

“And the parking place isn’t there at all” Wonpil proceeded “and neither is the East door you talked about” he frowned a little “there are also corridors with rooms that don’t actually exist.”

Dowoon frowned and looked over at him

“The blueprint is from the 60s.” He told him and Wonpil raised an eyebrow “Uh… yeah, it’s written on the bottom right corner, you never noticed?” Dowoon’s attention shifted to that subject and he mused about it “Yerin told us that there’d been a fire, right?” He asked and Wonpil nodded “So, uh, they rebuilt it and built the, the parking place, yeah?” Wonpil nodded again, clearly interested “Yeah, so, like, maybe they rebuilt the building from the same plan and, um, just added the parking place and the, the East door and stuff…” he muttered “uh, I don’t know about the corridors though. Maybe they just didn’t want to build more rooms?”

Wonpil fell silent.

“That makes sense…” He muttered softly, nodding “but it’s strange…”

Dowoon snorted a bit and looked at him.

“You’re scared of the ghost stories?” He asked with a little smirk and Wonpil chuckled.

“You know I’m not. I’m just curious.” He told him “I’ve never been to C-floor before.”

Dowoon snorted and shook his head a bit.

“It’s just another floor. It just has that, the words on the wall when you come up the stairs from the parking place” he told him and Wonpil looked interested “I think it looks just like your floor only in, like, a different direction.” He tried to point the East with his hand and accidentally hit JB over the head with the back of his hand. JB looked wildly over his shoulder and frowned “Sorry, hyung” Dowoon chuckled and JB shook his head with a huff when he saw Wonpil sniggering.JB seemed to be, understandably, not very pleased to have the back of a very broad and tall man pressed against his.

“I see…” Wonpil said after he stopped sniggering “I still would like to see it myself beca—”

He didn’t get to finish what he was saying because the bus rode over something it shouldn’t have and it sent people toppling over one another. The sound of plastic from the Taekwondo people’s raincoats echoed and several people swore loudly, trying to stay upright. JB was practically crushed by the broad guy and accidentally shoved his crotch onto a woman’s face as he tried not to fall on her.

(Jinyoung pulled his friend away from her before she could punch him where it _really_ hurt.)

Dowoon only held on fast onto the ring and felt Wonpil’s lips hard against his.

That wasn’t a kiss. It was just a _very lame_ lip smash (and a very painful one too). Still, Dowoon felt like his whole body had been just set on fire.

His face actually felt like it was burning. Wonpil had let go of the ring he was clutching and held on to the front of Dowoon’s jacket.

 _That_ kind of contact had never happened despite how intimate they were.

Dowoon’s heart stopped for a split-second and he widened his eyes before leaning away, wincing and bringing his hand up to his mouth.

There was a bit of blood in Dowoon’s fingers when he looked at them.

“Oh, oh no…” Wonpil mumbled, looking somewhat distressed when he saw the blood, his face also somewhat flushed “I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t, it wasn’t your fault.” Dowoon told him, shaking his head and licking the blood off his busted lip “It’s just a little, don’t bother.”

(He was being honest. It’d hurt at first but now it just felt like he’d just bit his lip while eating or something.

Or maybe it was just the rush of what had just happened that had numbed his senses.)

Wonpil reached up his hand to touch his lip but Dowoon reflexively leaned back to avoid his hand. Wonpil retracted it before curling it into a fist and letting it fall alongside his body. Then he gave him that wide-eyed stare that he couldn’t understand at all.

“Uh… it’s fine, don’t, don’t worry about it.” He mumbled, clearing his throat and licking the blood off the inside of his lip.

“I’m sorry I was so close to you.” Wonpil mumbled back and he sounded a bit disheartened, looking down and pressing his lips together.

Dowoon tightened his grip on the ring above his head and gritted his teeth.

_He hated that look._

“I said it’s fine.” He told him, pointedly, and he actually put one hand on Wonpil’s back, bringing him closer. Wonpil looked up again, that unreadable glint on his big shiny black eyes “You can stay where you are.”

“Thank you.” Wonpil smiled a little and looked down again, remaining silent for a moment "This barely counts as a kiss, right?" He muttered with a snort.

Dowoon sighed and prayed that Wonpil wouldn't feel his heartbeat.

"Um... well, kisses aren't supposed to hurt, are they?" He muttered and Wonpil chortled against his chest.

"I would rather they don't."

Dowoon chuckled half-heartedly. They remained quiet for the rest of trip.

 

* * *

 

He just had two classes that day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon right after lunch and was free to go home at 3pm.

Wonpil only had one class in the morning because he didn't have his afternoon instrument tutoring, since his tutor would be absent that day.

JB and Jinyoung told them that they were going straight home but Wonpil said he would have lunch first and then go home.

“I know that something is bothering you.” Wonpil airily told him when they were already sitting down to eat the Donkatsu they’d gotten (it was the dish that looked he most appealing that day).

Dowoon already knew that Wonpil knew but he still felt self-conscious. He brought a hand up to his neck and rubbed it a little.

“I told you it’s…” Dowoon started

“ _Bullshit_.” Wonpil grumbled before stuffed his mouth with food and chewed like he did when he was annoyed “You’ve never really bothered about grades.”

“It’s different now.” Dowoon frowned a little “They weren’t important before. This is university.”

Wonpil looked at him, chewing on his food and clearly musing about what he’d said.

“There’s still something else” he declared and Dowoon huffed before he shoved a lot of food in his mouth to have an excuse not to talk “that won’t work.” Wonpil pointed his chopsticks at him with a slight pout “You’ve been acting weird lately and I want to know why.”

Dowoon’s heart was beating hard against his ribcage and he could almost feel the blood rush through his veins, when he fisted his hands. He felt dizzy, the bottled-up emotions threatening to burst at any moment, especially after the unexpected, _violent_ contact in the bus.

(He should be careful not to bite the sore.)

“I’m not your brother.”

The words came out of his mouth and he was glad it didn't sound angry. Wonpil looked at him in silence and Dowoon held his look, tightening his grip on his chopsticks before he shoved more food into his mouth.

“I know that.”

Dowoon was starting to lose his cool again, his hands trembling a little.

“You know that.” He repeated, hoarsely.

Wonpil paused and stared at him.

“Is that what’s been bothering you?”

_‘What’s bothering me is that you will never return my feelings because you will never see me as anything but a cute and roguish younger brother’_

“It’s” he snapped a little and he huffed, licking his sore inner lip before he swallowed his food “it’s not like that, like… look, I can’t, I’m, I don’t” he wasn’t making sense at all, not even to himself. He ruffled his own hair with a trembling hand.

He didn’t know how to say it and he would have to find a way of showing his gratitude toward Jae and Brian for turning up on that exact moment and joining them at the table.

“Hello, children.” Jae greeted with a slightly displeased smile in Wonpil’s direction “Did you sleep well, nerd?”

Wonpil dropped the subject to grin at his roommate.

“I did, thanks, hyung.”

“Good” Jae scoffed and Brian chuckled, looking at him. Jae then proceeded to inform everyone that he was _a wonderful friend_ and sometimes woke his roommate up with the lovely sound of his singing but hadn't done it that morning.

“Oh, is that why you had pink hair a while back?” Brian asked with a chuckle when the banter led them to reveal their prank war. Jae opened his arms emphatically.

“See? I always said this man was a snake, but nobody believes me.” Jae complained theatrically and Dowoon laughed.

“I thought it was on purpose” Brian chuckled, looking at his own food before digging in “it suited you, hyung. You looked softer than usual.”

“Excuse _you_ ” Jae snubbed his nose but Dowoon was paying attention to his funny reactions so he noticed his face getting a little pink after he saw his roommate’s eyes gleam in a way that reminded him of the look he had when he was playing guitar “I am not soft.” Jae declared pointedly “I am death and destruction.”

Jimin joined them a bit after that with Kevin “Greetings, friends.” Jae said.

“Who’s death and destruction?” Kevin asked when they sat down.

“Of course it’s me.” Jae said dramatically pointing at himself “Can’t you tell by my vicious look?”

Jimin rolled her eyes and snorted.

“You are soft, hyung.” Wonpil smiled and Jae glared at him and pointed his chopsticks in his direction.

“You shut your mouth, cheeky youngster.”

The banter stretched throughout lunch, of course and by the end of it Dowoon wasn’t even upset anymore.

"Wait, so you've known each other since high school?" Jae asked looking from Dowoon to Wonpil who nodded "I feel so betrayed right now? Why didn't I know this?"

"You never asked." Wonpil shrugged and Jae frowned in disbelief, seeking support on his other friends. Jimin provided it by pursing her lips and frowning a little clearly thinking that Wonpil was a bit weird.

(Dowoon couldn't provide the support because that seemed like a solid excuse to him as well.)

"If he didn't know, how could he ask?" Kevin chortled and Jae put his chopsticks beside his plate and brought his hands together as if in prayer.

"Thank you, Kevin, it's nice to have sensible people in this family."

They all laughed at the term he'd used to describe the group.

"Why did I get stuck with you then?" Jae sassed picking up his chopsticks again "Why didn't you and Dowoonie get the same room?"

Wonpil chuckled and looked over at Dowoon who was already blushing.

It was so embarrassingly stupid.

"Well, we kind of didn't read the application forms properly..." he started and everyone was laughing again "yes, and, uh, we asked for a shared room but we forgot to add that we specify that we wanted to stay together."

Jae gave him a blank stare for a solid five seconds before he clicked his tongue and nodded, looking at the others.

"Well, it seems like you don't need a brain to have talent" he declared and Brian almost choked "who would have thought?" He patted Brian's back as the family cackled loudly, making a scene.

Dowoon wasn't even offended and neither was Wonpil, despite his puffed cheeks.

He was really glad for the friends he and Wonpil had made there.

(And no, it wasn’t just because he wanted to avoid that touchy subject and they turned up at the right moment.)

* * *

 

Wonpil went home right after lunch because he wanted to get stuff done. Dowoon decided to walk home because it wasn’t raining and walking was always a great idea when one wanted to think.

He got to the South Wing door at around half past three.

The door wouldn’t open with his student card and he kicked it lightly before trying again. It wasn’t the first time it happened. He tried again. Still not working “Stupid technology.”

Well, maybe he could try the East Door, since he’d never really seen it and the sudden interest in it had left him a bit curious as well.

The East door was right beside the gate to the parking place and when Dowoon flashed his card the door immediately opened.

“I swear…” He muttered, shaking his head as he pushed it.

This door had a small foyer before a long, tiled ramp that looked just like the tiles his family had outside their home.

It had the same fluorescent lights over it as the corridors and it had no windows. 

The ramp was long and painful and when he saw a flight of stairs at the upper end he just gave up and sat down, right where he was, at the top of that crazy-ass ramp, against the dull wall.

Maybe it'd been the walk, but that empty, weird place seemed to work some sort of magic on Dowoon because on that moment, he realised that he could and _he would_ tell Wonpil about his feelings.

_He was his best friend._

He was his best friend and he was stupid for being so caught up in his own head that he forgot what that actually meant.

_So damn stupid._

His epiphany was interrupted by the sound of loud wheezing at the top of the stairs.

It happened in the span of about 20 seconds.

Dowoon was looking at the stop of the stairs to see who was coming when there was a power outage.

Whoever it was screamed like someone was killing them. He heard quick footsteps down the stairs and more wheezing before the yelling continued, the shrieks echoing awfully through the empty space. It took Dowoon a solid two seconds to react but then he got back on his feet and pulled his phone out of his pocket to turn on the screen and see what was happening. The moment he did it something heavy pounced him and he yelped in surprise, his heart racing, as whatever it was clutched to him.

It was nobody he knew, but it was definitely a person _(a live one)_ and they seemed to be terrified.

(The person smelled like eucalyptus and Dowoon thought of Koalas, almost laughing.)

“Hey, chill out.” He said trying to peel them away from him but they wouldn’t move “What’s your problem?”

“ _Save me from the dark_ ” they whimpered and Dowoon snorted before he decided to ‘ _be a hero_ ’ and walked all the way down the ramp again, the person always clutching to him, and opened the door. The light from the outside flooded in.

Dowoon looked at the guy, who was bit taller than him but had clung to him as if he were a damn tree and saw that he was crying. The guy didn't say anything to him before started walking fast up the street and Dowoon just stared at him, in complete disbelief. He saw him stop not five seconds after, bend over and wheeze before reaching in his bag and getting an asthma inhaler and shoving it in his mouth.

(Maybe they were a bit right about C-floor.

It would certainly feel like it was haunted if there was somebody screaming bloody murder in there.)

The power returned about ten minutes later and that event was so weird that Dowoon forgot his shame for a while as he walked over to the South Wing, having to go all the way around through the D-floor.

“Hey, Dowoon.”

Dowoon looked ahead JB in front of his room, waving at him.

Dowoon smiled at him.

“Hey, hyung. Have you seen Wonpil?” JB shrugged and pointed at D-14 when Dowoon was beside him.

“He should be back already.”

Dowoon raised an eyebrow and looked at the door to Wonpil’s room. He just had the feeling that he wasn’t there.

“Back from where?”

“He said something about going to the C-floor before, like, doing coursework. Shouldn’t have taken him long, C-floor isn’t too far.” JB told him airily “And I got a load of stuff to do as well, so, see you later.” He sighed before he went to his room.

Dowoon was right about Wonpil not being there, of course.

* * *

 

He walked over to the South Wing, thinking that maybe Wonpil would be there waiting for him or something like tha.

(Sometimes he went there to eat his food when his ran out or was stolen).

However, Wonpil was nowhere in the South Wing, his phone was out of range and Dowoon felt like he was out of options.

He sat in silence in his room, staring blankly at the wall, letting his imagination run freely as to what could have possibly happened to Wonpil to make him disappear like that when it hit him and he huffed.

_C-floor._

Wonpil had always had a problem with curiosity.

(That had gotten them both in trouble many times in the past but it was different this time.

Dowoon didn’t worry too much when they got in trouble _together_.)

He lied on his bed with his phone for a long while until he tried calling Wonpil again, and again the message told him his phone was out of range.

_That did it._

He sat upright on the bed and breathed heavily through his nose before he sat on the edge and stood up, clenching his fists.

Dowoon didn’t believe in evil ghosts and that kind of stuff but he did believe in evil people.

_What if someone had hurt him?_

He was already seeing red when he got his phone to call his roommate.

Really, when he called Brian, he was pretty much ready to go.

(It was mostly to inform him that he would be borrowing his hammer that he called him.)

* * *

 

C-floor had probably never been as noisy as when Dowoon raged through it with a hammer in his hand, calling Wonpil at the top of his lungs and asking where he was, his voice thundering through the corridors.

He got to the stairs to the parking place and looked around for him.

_No Wonpil._

He looked everywhere he could.

_No Wonpil._

Even outside.

_No Wonpil._

The rain had returned and Dowoon felt like his heart would come out of his mouth.

_He had to find Wonpil._

It wasn’t long until his face was drenched in more than just rainwater.

(It was a good thing that nobody was there to witness the scene because they would have probably thought he’d lost his mind and called the police to arrest him.

Or maybe they’d call an ambulance to take him to the loony bin.)

The stairs from the parking place didn’t even feel as bad when he climbed them, going up two steps at a time and breathing heavily.

“KIM WONPIL!” He called again, after having already yelling himself hoarse, trudging down the parking place corridor, the one that led to the welded door “I SWEAR THAT IF HE’S HURT, SOMEONE’S GOING TO TAKE IT!” He threatened angrily and he absolutely meant it “AND IT’S NOT GOING TO BE PRETTY.”

“YOON DOWOON!” He heard his name and looked wildly around, his heart racing and almost

_It was him. He'd found him.  
_

“WHERE?” He yelled, trying to find the source of his voice.

“BATHROOM. THE DOOR IS LOCKED.” Wonpil yelled back and Dowoon looked round for the bathroom. It was right beside the welded door. He stomped towards it and tried to turn the knob. It wouldn’t open no matter how much he tried.

“Wonpil?” He called hoarsely, pushing the door a little. It was useless “Is that really you?”

“Yes, it’s me!” Wonpil said, clearly frustrated, hitting his hand against the locked the door “I just walked into the bathroom and was checking the water pressure when, when the door slammed shut and wouldn’t open again!”

Dowoonchoked a sob and tried to wipe his eyes.

“Are you, are you alright?”

“I am." He huffed "I’m just upset because I couldn’t, my phone isn’t working” Wonpil said and Dowoon heard the muffled noise of something hitting the door from the other side “How did you, how did you know I was here?”

“Jaebum-hyung told me.” Dowoon sniffled a little and Wonpil fell silent.

Dowoon rubbed his face with his hands before he sighed, trying to swallow his damn tears.

“I was so scared that you’d gotten hurt, you fool.”

Silence.

“I heard you.” Wonpil said back, his voice echoing weirdly in the bathroom and Dowoon groaned.

“I need to tell you something” He said leaning against the door, the hammer clunking softly on the plywood “You were, you were right.” The tears came flooding back and he hit his onto the door “There was something else bothering me.”

Silence.

“Tell me, please.” Wonpil said and Dowoon fell silent for a moment, his heart racing and his blood rushing up to his face.

“Not through, not through a damn closed door!” Dowoon grunted, kicking the door.

“Please, just tell me. I don't know when I'll get out of here.” Wonpil asked again and Dowoon sighed.

(If that’s what he wanted, okay.)

“It’s…” he said and he paused a little trying to find the right words “it’s just that… it’s that we don’t feel the same and, and…”

Silence.

Wonpil didn’t reply for a solid 30 seconds.

Dowoon only heard a muffled version of his meltdown in that bathroom on C-floor.

“Why are you crying!?” Dowoon cried as well, banging the fist that wasn’t holding the hammer onto the door.

“Why are you!?” Wonpil choked back, bitterly “Couldn’t you, I would at least like to be face to face for you to tell me that” He gurgled and Dowoon stepped back, surprised. _Wh-_ “I knew that, that I didn’t have a chance but, but… this is just too cruel!” He gurgled “I can’t believe you’re doing this!”

_‘I didn’t have a chance’_

Dowoon couldn't believe his ears.

“You told me to do it, idiot! I said I didn't want to!” He exclaimed, banging his fist on the door again “Why didn’t you tell me sooner!?”

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know it was that!” Wonpil yelled, teary and angry, a sound Dowoon had almost forgotten “And, I, I thought you’d freak out!”

(He was kind of freaking out now, but it was out of anger towards the absurd context of their confession.)

“Why would I freak out!?” Dowoon yelled back, the fist banging going back and forth “When, when did you… _since when!_?”

Wonpil fell silent before he choked a little and banged his fist on the door one last time.

“Stupid contacts…” He muttered before he chuckled “The, the beginning of this year” he told him and he heard him huff “you pulled me out of something that was making me feel, miserable and, and I just, I don't know what happened but” it was clear from his voice that he was still crying “what I feel is too strong, and I, I didn’t want things to change between us… _again_.” He chortled and his deep breathing echoed in the bathroom “I can’t believe this is how I’m telling you this!”

Dowoon had the urge to punch the door down but he decided against it when he remembered the hammer.

The sound of the hammer slamming onto the doorknob echoed through the silent floor and he heard Wonpil yelp on the other side of the door as the knob clunked onto the floor.

“It’s not _my_ fault” Dowoon growled angrily before slamming the, know knobless, lock with full force again “you got yourself stuck” _slam_ “in a damn bathroom” _slam_ “on this damn floor” _slam_ “when I was finally going” _slam_ “to tell you…” one last slam and then a crunch when the lock finally gave along with the chunk of plywood around it, caving in. It wasn’t really open though because the lock was strong and was still holding it “that I don’t want you to see me as a younger brother anymore!” He growled before he run onto the door, aiming his shoulder at it, and body-slamming against it full-force “Because it feels different now!”

The lock gave at once and the door flung open with a loud bang, crashing against the wall and breaking some of the tiles. The echo was deafening. Wonpil was standing away from the door, his hands covering his eyes. He uncovered them. Dowoon saw that his eyes were red and he was trembling.

“Are you hurt?” Dowoon asked stomping into the weirdly clean and scentless place and looking at Wonpil who blinked up at him in surprise, uncovering his head and going in his direction.

“No…” He said, and he looked in Dowoon’s general direction “I’m, I’m sorry… I, I lost my c-contacts because, because…” He chuckled nervously and it just sounded like he was sobbing “Everything’s blu-blurry… I was so shocked when you, when you started hitting the door!” He exclaimed and he shook his head, squinting in Dowoon’s direction with a smile on his reddened face “What were you hitting it with?” He squinted at his hand “Is that a, is that a hammer?”

“Uh... yeah.” Dowoon replied, raising the hammer at eye-level “It’s a hammer.”

Wonpil was clearly going to say something else when they heard someone gasp behind them. Dowoon looked back and wasn’t surprised when he realised he didn’t recognise the person.

“What’s, what’s happening?” The guy asked nervously and his eyes fell on the hammer and Dowoon’s wild look along with Wonpil’s distressed figure, trembling and crying “What...”

Who was this guy and why was he interrupting that important moment?

“None of your business.” Dowoon declared angrily and he walked over to Wonpil, grabbed his hand, and pulled him towards him before walking with him out of the bathroom “Or do you want to try the hammer, uh?” He threatened and the guy flinched.

“No!” He shrieked, covering his head “I just, I just thought... I thought that something was happening to Frankie…”

Dowoon frowned and shook his head but he pretty much ignored it. He didn’t care about any of that shit, he just wanted to get himself and Wonpil out of that troublesome place.

“Don’t let go of my hand, Dowoonie” Wonpil asked, entwining their fingers “I can’t see well, everything’s blurry.”

Dowoon tightened his grip on his hand and, as they walked along the corridor and out of that dreadful floor there were many heads out of their rooms, looking curious.

When they saw the two boys walking quickly down the floor they seemed disappointed.

“I thought that we’d be free of Frankie this time...” They heard a girl grunt from her room before she shut the door.

“Who the hell is Frankie?” Dowoon asked looking at the people and seeing the same disappointed look on each and every face. C-floor was rather noisy at that moment. Wonpil shrugged lightly.

“I’ve never heard of any Frankies.”

They were in one of the empty corridors, the one with the windows, just before D-floor when Dowoon felt Wonpil pull him back, signalling that he wanted them to stop.

It was weirdly lit in there, with all the windows and the white light from outside reflecting on the empty walls. There was a white glow and the sun wasn’t visible through the clouds. It wasn’t raining again.

“Let’s stop here.” Wonpil said, squinting up at him.

(Anyone who didn’t know would think that he was very mad but Dowoon knew better.

Hitting the door had some therapeutic properties for sure. He felt an unnameable feeling that made him believe that if he jumped out of the window, he could fly.

When he realised that he was still holding the hammer, he shoved it in the back pocket of his jeans.)

“Can’t we, uh, can’t we wait for you to get your contacts or, like, your glasses?” Dowoon chuckled a little “You’re pulling a funny face, it’s hard to take you seriously right now.”

“No.” He opposed, pointedly and Dowoon looked round at the empty walls and the glass windows. Terrible place.

_Again._

“This a shitty place.” 

“Not shittier than a bathroom.” Wonpil grinned cheekily. 

(Jae was rubbing off on him for sure.)

Dowoon cackled.

“Okay, fair enough. Just, just say it.”

“Good” Wonpil nodded before he huffed and shook his head “I'm angry that you, that you didn't tell me anything sooner.” He declared, crossing his arms.

(He wanted an explanation, Dowoon knew the pose.)

Dowoon shut his eyes, pursing his lips and feeling his face get very warm very fast again.

“I mean... you” Dowoon huffed “you always say that I’m cute and, and you always seem to think that I’ll do something, like, stupid stuff.” He mumbled. Wonpil sighed and rubbed his own head “And like…” he clicked his tongue “you told me you had a crush on some guy..."

“I was lying.”

The speed with which Wonpil said that almost knocked Dowoon onto the floor.

“What?”

“I was lying.” He repeated and Dowoon blinked.

“You were lying.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Silence.

“I wanted to see if you’d get jealous or something.” Wonpil confessed, now looking a bit embarrassed as he licked his lips “It was so childish but I just, I wanted to know…”

Dowoon felt his face burn again and covered it with his hands.

_Unbelievable._

“It worked.” He muttered with a snort.

“What?”

“It worked.” Dowoon repeated, louder this time “I was so jealous I, I thought I would die. You really know how to play me.”

Wonpil didn’t say anything for a solid five seconds and Dowoon’s frustration took over.

(In a good way.)

Wonpil didn’t have to see him clearly to feel what he was going to do.

Dowoon closed the distance between them and grabbed his wrists before pressing him against the window and smashing their lips together.

_(This time because he wanted to.)_

Well, _yes_ , he’d seen that in a drama once and it’d looked cool. It didn’t really work like that when he tried it though.

For one, Wonpil hit his head against the glass of the window and chortled onto his lips. The warmth he felt pooling in his stomach made even the silliness of that first kiss worth it. Dowoon laughed too.

“Ow… I appreciate the thought, but this stuff usually takes more than one take.” Wonpil mumbled cheekily, his face red, and Dowoon chuckled too before he shut him up with his lips and let himself melt into the kiss.

It really was nothing like a drama kiss but it felt like was something that didn’t belong in this world.

_(In a good way.)_

And it was probably the world’s worst kiss, sloppy and teary, maybe a little awkward because Dowoon was all over the place, and against a window on some weird corridor. It really was far from ideal but Wonpil didn’t seem to mind it at all. Dowoon let go of his wrists and put his arms tightly around his waist, under his sweater, feeling the warm skin of the small of his back. Wonpil curled his arms around Dowoon’s neck, his cold hands in his hair, contrasting with the warmth he felt all over and his racing heart.

The sun broke through the clouds (to bless that moment, _naturally_ ) but the light was so strong that when Dowoon _stupidly_ opened his eyes, for God knows what reason, he was almost blinded and groaned in pain.

“Ow, ow...” He winced, shutting his eyes breaking the kiss and Wonpil chortled, opening his eyes as well “my eyes!”

Wonpil held his face in his hands when he brought his hands up to rub his eyes. The light spots were still there and he couldn’t see for shit.

( _Definitely_ nothing like in the dramas.

He wouldn’t do that ever again.)

“Why are you laughing!?” Dowoon complained, chuckling as well, sort of half-heartedly, his heart beating hard against his ribs, still “It hurts, I can’t see!”

"Now you know how it feels!"

Wonpil was still laughing when Dowoon felt his pocket buzz.

He had pretty much forgot to warn Brian that he’d found Wonpil and that he was unscarred and if Brian hadn’t called he would have just forgotten.

 _“Dowoonie!”_ He exclaimed when he picked up “ _Your phone was out of range_.” He breathed heavily on the phone and Dowoon felt bad for forgetting to tell him.

(He had a good reason though.)

“Hyung.” He called hoarsely, feeling his throat raspy as well when he paid attention to his own voice “I’m sorry, I forgot...” He said, looking at Wonpil still seeing him very poorly through the dark spots in his eyes “I found, uh, I found Wonpil and he’s fine.” He heard Brian repeat what he’d just said and very clearly heard Jae say ‘ _thank God_ ’ before he started complaining “He got stuck in a bathroom on C-floor.”

Brian didn’t reply immediately.

“Pardon?”

“Wonpil got stuck in a bathroom on C-floor.” He repeated, clicking his tongue and rubbing his eyes.

More silence.

“Why?” Brian asked.

Dowoon snorted and frowned, glancing at Wonpil. He didn’t know why, actually.

“Uh… why did you get stuck?”

Wonpil shrugged, rubbing his own eyes.

“Maybe the wind?”

“Maybe the wind?” Dowoon repeated and Brian chuckled before he heard him sigh.

“Alright, okay. I’m just, I’m glad you’re both fine. We’ll be there in a bit.”

“Okay, see you then.” Dowoon said and he hung up, pocketing his phone before he grabbed Wonpil’s hand again “Let’s get out of here.”

"Hopefully without cracking our skulls." Wonpil snorted and they held hands again.

They only bumped against the door at the end of that corridor, and no skulls were cracked. They walked into the darkness of one of the windowless corridors of D-floor, Dowoon got his vision back and could guide Wonpil over to D-14.

“Was Jae-hyung with Brian-hyung?” Wonpil asked and Dowoon nodded.

“Uh... yeah. I heard him say ‘ _thank God’_ before he started calling you a stupid idiot and saying that the ghosts should have taken you.” He smiled and Wonpil scoffed, shaking his head.

(Well, everyone knew that Jae didn’t really hate Wonpil.

It was all just good old banter.)

“There were no ghosts though.” Wonpil said with a chuckle “You were probably the scariest thing that floor has ever seen.”

Dowoon snorted and coughed, frowning a little. He’d yelled himself hoarse.

“I’ll make you some tea.” Wonpil told him when they got to the door to his room, which was open.

“I’d like the tea.” Dowoon beamed brightly.

That was a change in their relationship that neither of them really minded.

Mostly because it barely felt like a change at all.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (for anybody interested in 'the playlist'. I'm lame af and I never denied that this was self-indulgent so I actually put it together lmao [ it's here, in case you want to listen to some cool stuff ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA1CHeHcqVw0xJJJCqV-KzUfAl9an2RUh)
> 
> by e)


	11. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Let us be bold. Let us be brave. Let us be together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not dead yet! /shot/  
> (Even though the last comeback punched me in the throat. both songs really. im still not okay. they have delivered, but at what c o s t /jumps off a cliff)
> 
> I took ages to update and i want to apologise to those of you who like this thing and have been looking forward for more /weeps/ (i died a little when i skimmed through the comments gfdhgkjhkfdg i can't thank you enough for the support, it means so damn much to me ughhhh)  
> It wasn't really a writer's block or anything, it was just that I was busy and when I came around to finally sit down and edit I didn't really like what I had and I tried to rewrite it but lel the alternative was even messier, so what i did was i grabbed the first draft again and added some of the things i liked from the second one and here it is lmao it's still messy and all over the place (what's new tho haha) but idk i guess my original plotline is what i'll follow, i always end up doing that anyway hdjkfdgk 
> 
> I'm expecting not to take that long with the next chapter though, since i've decided to stick to the original plot and everything's pretty much written down, it just needs to be edited (even though it always ends up sprinkled with typos and weird shit /weeps)
> 
> ANYWAY, this chapter has more wholesome friendship moments, Park Sungjin appreciation, banter, weird stuff, bad jokes, fluffiness, a tiny dash of angst, and jaehyungparkian sailing (ay!)  
> Even though it's so damn long (it's over 14k lmao), I hope you enjoy it and stick around for perhaps two more chapters (it'll depend on how the editing goes /sweats/ i may feel like splitting one chapter in two again, ahhh)  
> <3

* * *

 

When that rainy, cold Friday had started, Jae expected to get wet, hang out with his friends, complain about the weather and his luck and then text his family with a couple pictures of the weather featuring himself looking disgruntled.

He didn’t expect to actually get his game together and confess to the guy who would eventually kill him of a heart attack (aka. Brian Kang). He also didn’t expect to be confessed back with Never Gonna Give You Up. And, of course, something that wouldn’t even cross his wildest thoughts was that his dumb roommate would go missing after going snooping around _the Ghosts’ Lair._

Well, it was fair to say that that day was running longer and a lot more eventful that he’d initially bargained for.

(Jae had really said that the ghosts should have taken Wonpil and he was still pissy even after everything turned out to be just fine.)

“He’s like the lucky version of the moron that dies at the beginning in horror movies.” Jae complained while they were in the car and everyone laughed “No, really, there’s always a dumb asshole in scary movies that goes check where the demonic noise is coming from.” He paused and breathed heavily “That moron is Wonpil.”

Brian cackled loudly and shook his head.

“It’s true, it’s like they sacrifice the dumbest one to appease Satan.” Jimin offered, nodding.

Yerin guffawed and Brian was wheezing on the backseat. Even Jae snorted a little despite how hard he was trying to look angry.

“It seems like not even Satan wanted Kim Wonpil-ssi, though, because here we are” he opened his arms and pursed his lips “still stuck with him. Curiosity kills the cat but not the snake, it seems.”

Brian’s laugh made Jae laugh at his own joke.

“Sure. We know you hate him.” Jimin rolled her eyes and scoffed, glancing at Yerin, who grinned.

(So triggered. How _dared_ they?)

Brian had been silent the whole time, listening to Jae’s rant and laughing, but he had something of immense value to add to the discussion.

“There was an article about it in last month’s issue about Natural Selection.” Brian said gravely and Jae almost choked.

“Get out with your National Geographic, man!”

Brian didn’t stop and promptly summarised the article he’d read and it fit perfectly, Jae realised. Wonpil was clearly disrespecting Darwinism with his recklessness. Brian’s story prompted another round of laughter.

“What did, what did Dowoon-oppa take to C-floor?” Jimin cackled, wiping a tear off her eye.

“My hammer.” Brian told her and Jimin clearly had a mind as pure as Jae’s because they both snickered and Jimin looked back at Jae who glanced at Brian.

Brian grinned from ear to ear despite his quickly flushing cheeks. He looked at Jimin who was still snickering and it was clear that he was hesitating to make a crude joke because of the two girls at the front of the car. Jae didn’t know about Yerin yet, but he knew that Jimin was anything but squeamish with that kind of thing.

“You’re embarrassing Brian, Jimin” Jae dramatically shook his head “unbelievable.”

Jimin scoffed and raised an eyebrow at him after looking at Brian. Jae noticed Yerin’s shoulders quivering lightly with silent giggling.

(Nobody was pure in that car.

 _Good._ )

“Look at the pot calling the kettle black.” Jimin sassed with a smirk “As if you didn’t think about _weird_ stuff when you heard that as well.”

“Me!?” Jae gasped, clutching his chest “I am a pure child of Jesus.” Jae countered as Yerin tried to focus on the driving while giggling “I’m sorry about James, Brian. She has a very dirty mind.” He declared gravely.

(Jae was pushing it and he knew it. It would probably take another round of banter for Jimin to expose him.

Honestly, Jae would probably _brag_ , if she actually exposed what he felt for Brian.)

 “ _James?_ ” Yerin chuckled and Jimin shook her head and chuckled.

“He’s a dork, don’t mind him.”

“Jamie is short for James.” Jae explained “And Jamie is her English name.”

“It’s also short for many other English names.” Jimin countered flatly, sighing “And it is a name on its own.”

“Sure thing, _Jemima_.” Jae teased and Jimin groaned.

(There weren’t many names in English that could be shortened to Jamie, but Jae had done his research properly for the sake of the great responsibility of annoying Jimin. He knew all the names that could be shortened to Jamie.)

Brian frowned and looked at Jae.

“I’d never heard that name.” Brian confessed and Jae gestured towards him.

“Brian is also not convinced.”

Brian softly shook his head and chuckled.

“Jimin is a cute name, though.” Yerin said and the smile was clear in her voice and Jae saw Jimin’s whole face light up with a grin.

“Don’t tell her that, she’ll get full of herself.”

“My name isn’t Park Jaehyung.” Jimin looked back at him and showed him her tongue but she was clearly not mad. Jae grinned at her.

“You’re also Park though and your name also starts with a ‘J’ sound.” He teased back and Jimin did a little farting noise with her mouth that had Yerin clutching hard onto the wheel because she couldn’t stop laughing.

“I’m s-sorry, that noise…” Yerin breathed and Brian was also cackling.

“Yerin always laughs when people make farting noises.” Brian explained as Jae laughed and furrowed his brows, bewildered.

(Well, at least now Jimin knew what to do to make Yerin laugh easily.

Also, randomly complimenting someone’s name was an age-old flirting move and Jae almost shouted ‘ _Fighting, Benjamin’_ but he held himself back. She hadn’t exposed him and that was worth noting.)

“Oh, my phone.” Jae blinked when he felt it buzz in his pocket and looked at the screen “It’s the Legendary One.”

Jimin snorted.

“Did you really save his contact like that?”

“He did.” Brian nodded with a chuckle as Jae picked up Park Sungjin’s call.

The call started normally but then Jae furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Brian before looking at Jimin, both returning his confused look.

“Can you, I’m sorry, Park Sungjin-ssi, but can you speak slower, I’m” Jae tried feeling a bit concerned because Sungjin sounded really distressed and he couldn’t understand some of the things he was trying to say. The rain had started pouring hard again and that noise didn’t help “I’m sorry, you’re speaking too fast and I, I can’t understand…” He looked desperately at Brian who blinked in confusion. Jae was suffering because Sungjin was speaking too fast and it sounded so strange that it felt like a different language at times. “Okay… right, and… okay, the van broke down and you don’t know how to fix it, right. Okay.”

Brian widened his eyes and gestured for Jae to pass him the phone.

“I’m gonna pass the phone to Brian…” pause “ _who’s Brian?_ ” Jae asked confused and everyone laughed, including Brian “Brian is… _Kang Younghyun_?” He tried seriously not believing that Sungjin was asking who Brian was and immediately recognised the name that nobody used.

( _Sungjin, man._ )

“He was speaking in dialect, man.” Jae mumbled shaking his head and Jimin covered her mouth trying not to disturb the call “I bring dishonour to my family.”

“Hello, Sungjin hyung” Brian greeted with a smile and he fell silent as Sungjin clearly explained his situation again “That’s awful… okay. Are you in the van? Please don’t stand in the rain” he advised, widening his eyes, very seriously “you can’t lose your voice!”

(A legit concern.)

“Oh, we’re close enough.” Brian said and Yerin shook her head as they stopped at a small traffic jam near a crossroads “Well, there’s a traffic jam, but we’re, uh, we’re close enough.”

“So close, yet so far…” Jae mumbled wistfully and Jimin snorted weakly, trying to see what was preventing the cars from moving.

“Okay, does it click when you turn the key?” Brian asked before humming at the reply “Okay, there’s a chance I can fix it then. I know a bit about mechanics.” He smiled awkwardly “No, it’s fine! You have tools, right?” He asked before nodding “Perfect.”

“He doesn’t have a back glass.” Jimin mumbled pointing at the back glass of Yerin’s car. Yerin clicked her tongue and sighed before looking at the cars ahead “Where is he?”

“By the river.” Jae said helpfully and he met Yerin’s confused look on the rear-view mirror. He shrugged “I know, I also don’t know why he’s at the river.”

“It must be so wet.” Jimin shivered and Jae furrowed his eyebrows.

“Of course it’s wet, Jimin, it’s a river.” He said pulling a disbelieving face “Have you lost your mind?”

It was a good thing that the car couldn’t move because Yerin cackled so hard that they would have certainly crashed, if it had been moving.

“I meant in general, oh my God!” Jimin wheezed and Brian almost dropped the phone, choking on his laughter “You’re serious!” Jae blinked, unable to react for a solid two seconds because that had not been intentional.

(He was a natural.)

“I’m sorry, hyung, I’m sorry” Brian stuttered into the phone, wiping his eyes “Jae hyung said something funny.”

“We’ll” Yerin wheezed, trying to calm down “we’ll go get him of course.” She declared looking at the cars ahead. That helped her regain her composure “When these fucking assholes start moving that is.” She cursed, hitting the honk “Move, motherfuckers!”

Brian chuckled.

“Yes, we’re with Yerin-ah” he confirmed with a nod “there’s a traffic jam, we’ll be there in around… fifteen minutes, I guess?” He said hesitantly and Jae sighed wistfully.

* * *

 

Brian was obviously being too positive about that traffic jam and how long it would take them to get to where Sungjin was.

Well, looking on the bright side, they all certainly strengthened their friendship after road raging together for over an hour and a half.

It was cathartic, honestly.

Every bit of annoyance that Jae felt in his life seemed to wash away with each curse and each time he heard Yerin slam the honk. They learnt how to swear in at least eight different languages. They were crying from laughter by the time Yerin started suggesting languages to look up swears. Not even Brian knew that she spoke good English but it was a great thing indeed because for once it was Jae teaching them what he dubbed _The Best Of English Insults_ and by the end of their maybe not so respectful escapade, they were calling everyone a wanker and Jae decided to record it because it was too beautiful to miss.

(And that’s how you make friends – you get into vicious, multi-cultural and multilingual road-rage with them.)

 

The rain had pretty much stopped already when they reached the river.

Sungjin was in a remote part of the river, according to what Brian said and they followed that information. They couldn’t make sure because when Jae tried to call him he wouldn’t pick up.

They just assumed he would still be there, since they’d gone through so much to get there.

There was no other sign of human life in there aside from Sungjin’s red pickup van. It would be a romantic scene, the sketchy old van with the river in the back, if it wasn’t distressing.

“Why wasn’t he picking up his phone?” Jimin mumbled looking ahead before Yerin stopped her Hyundai behind the van. Nobody made any suggestions as Jae and Brian opened their doors almost at the same time and got out of the car.

The mystery was solved once they looked in the van.

Sungjin was sleeping. He was lying sideways on the seats rolled in at least three fleece throws like a big, weird, colourful burrito, with his mouth slightly open and using a folded throw like a pillow.

“Oh, he covered the back with a plastic pane” Jimin pointed at the place where the back glass should be with a smile as she and Yerin got near the two boys.

“He’s sleeping.” Jae chuckled and Brian grinned.

“A good decision.” He said looking at Yerin “Will he be mad if we wake him up?”

Yerin hummed, looking fondly at the soft burrito boy sleeping in the van.

“I don’t think so” she whispered “let’s wake him up gently though.” She suggested and Brian nodded.

Jae knocked on the window with a grin. He did it softly at first but as Sungjin wouldn’t move, he tried a little harder. They saw him shifting a little and scrunch his nose. Jae knocked again and he opened his eyes just a slit, looking blearily at the glovebox before looking over at where the sound was coming from. He looked a bit puzzled for a second before he seemed to come back to his senses and understand where he was and why he was there.

He yawned after he sat back up on the driver’s seat and shed his layers of fleece throws, unrolling them from his body.

“I’m sorry” he said with a fuzzy smile rubbing his sleepy eyes when he opened the door “I decided to, to take a nap as I waited…” he explained and everyone chortled “thanks for coming over.”

“I’m glad we came by car.” Yerin said with a sigh, shaking her head “What were you doing here, oppa?”

Sungjin shrugged and chuckled, looking up at her before getting out of the car.

“I just wanted to see the river.” He confessed without looking at any of them, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes “Tiring day of work.”

Jae noticed that he wasn’t the only one for whom that was enough of an explanation as to why he would do something that unexpected on a rainy day.

Jimin, Yerin and Jae watched quietly as Brian grabbed the tools and went to work after struggling a little to pull the bonnet up. It was about as rusty as the rest of the vehicle. Brian asked them to hold the tools for him and they promptly did.

Sungjin was sitting behind the wheel, following Brian’s instructions.

“I knew it was the battery…” Brian muttered with a slightly concerned look “but I’d never seen terminals as corroded as these… how is it even working?” He chuckled, scratching his head.

Jae had no clue about what he was talking about but it sounded bad.

“With the power of love, maybe.” He chuckled and the girls smiled a little.

“Can you fix it?” Yerin asked worriedly glancing at Sungjin who couldn’t hear them for sure. Brian shrugged and pursed his lips.

“I’ll try…” He sighed “I’ll have to scrape them since we don’t have anything else at the moment… who has the wrench?” He glanced at them. Yerin promptly handed it over “Thanks, Yerin. And the screwdriver.” Jae handed it to him “Thanks.”

Jae started humming the Bob, the Builder theme song with a little smile and Jimin and Yerin chuckled.

Brian worked in silence for a while. Jae watched him unscrew something and try to scrape off some white stuff with the screwdriver and look very frustrated about it.

“How’s it going?” Sungjin asked poking his head out of the door. Jae showed him a thumbs-up. He was stressed enough for both of them, let at least Sungjin believe that everything would work out.

(Believing is key to success.)

“Okay, there’s not much more I can do…” Brian declared with a huff after tightening everything up “Sungjin-hyung, try to start the car, please.” He asked and Sungjin nodded.

The engine quivered loudly and Jae was surprised as were Jimin and Yerin.

However, the car didn’t start.

“Shit…” Brian clicked his tongue and huffed “Please try again.”

Same thing. Sungjin looked apprehensive.

“Try it with your foot pressing the rev pedal as far down as possible.” Brian suggested, starting to get distressed as well, walking round the van to look at what he was doing with his feet. It seemed to help a bit but the van still wouldn’t start.

(Jae started praying.)

“Don’t tell me I’ll have to be towed…” Sungjin groaned covering his face with hands. Brian sighed and licked his lips, clicking his tongue “I just wanted to go home and sleep…” He complained with a soft huff. Brian bit his lower lip, musingly, when the others joined him near Sungjin.

“Let’s try pushing it” Jae suggested, he’d done it once and it’d worked. Brian nodded and so they tried that next. It didn’t work either. Not even with four people pushing it. The old animal wouldn’t come back to life. It groaned weakly before dying again.

It wasn’t the gas either, as they’d made sure right away.

They were out of options.

They fell silent, looking at Brian who was still thinking, clearly not giving up, leaning onto Sungjin’s open door as everyone caught their breath after the impromptu workout.

“You don’t happen to have battery cables, do you?” Brian asked with a hopeful look on his face.

But, Sungjin’s face lit up and he nodded.

(Jae thanked God and Jesus.)

“I do actually!” He exclaimed before reaching under his seat and pulling out two cables and showing them to Brian, whose face lit up with a grin “I completely forgot about them! Sorry!”

“Brilliant!” He exclaimed and Sungjin handed them over. Brian looked at Yerin who was also smiling “Can you please put your car in front of the van?”

She did. Jae and Jimin watched expectantly as Brian pulled Yerin’s car’s bonnet open and connected the battery of her car to the van’s. He asked her to rev it up before telling Sungjin to try and start his van.

_It was a miracle._

The van roared back to life almost immediately. Everyone cheered and Sungjin revved it hard to get the power back to the old battery.

“All hail, Saint Kang Younghyun!” Jae hailed dramatically, bowing profusely. Brian laughed out loud and so did the girls. Sungjin looked like his face would split in half from his wide smile. He looked like he was about to cry.

“I can’t believe it! Thank you!” He exclaimed getting out of the van, looking very emotional and promptly trapping Brian in a bear hug “You’re a blessing!”

Brian chuckled in his embrace, looking a bit flattered at the praise.

(As he ought to, in Jae’s not at all biased opinion.)

“It’s nothing, I’m glad I could help.” He said with a little smile “I think you should replace the battery as soon as possible though, I have no idea how long it’ll last.” He chuckled worriedly “I don’t even know how it’s still working.” He confessed.

“Noted.” Sungjin sighed, shaking his head with a smile “First the glass, now this…” he clicked his tongue “but this can’t be postponed… or covered with a plastic pane…” He gestured to his makeshift back glass.

“It really can’t.” Brian snorted before glancing at the river and yawning. Sungjin yawned as well and naturally everyone yawned as well, because yawns do that. They all chuckled and looked over at the river.

It really looked amazing now, with the shy sunrays of the end of the day reflecting on the water and making it sparkle as if diamonds were floating on the surface.

They didn’t need to talk about it before everyone walked over to the wet handrail and leaned against it, staring at the water, with the chilly breeze grazing their cheeks.

Jae wanted to hug the cute boy who was currently rubbing his dirty hands on his own trousers after wetting them on the handrail and there was just so much going on in his mind at that point that he almost forgot that it wasn’t one-sided.

He could hug Brian if he wanted and Brian would be happy about it.

 _Wild_.

And Jae felt bold. It was easier to be bold when you didn’t have to talk about it and he knew that Brian didn’t believe in useless words. So, when Jae put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him towards himself, Brian simply smiled, softly, glowing with the fading sunlight and leant against the contact.

The fondness didn’t go unnoticed, of course, but their friends didn’t say anything to it. Jimin’s face was glowing with happiness.

“It’s really nice in here…” Yerin breathed with a smile “there’s something about running water that is relaxing…”

Sungjin nodded with a soft smile.

“That’s why I like to come here sometimes.” He said “Even though it’s cold…” He sighed and shook his head. He looked at Jae and Brian.

“Do you think…” he paused and chortled “well, I guess that was part of the deal, wasn’t it? It’s reckless and we don’t know what’ll happen.”

Brian shrugged a little and smiled and Jae snorted. It was Jimin who commented.

“I think it’s really cool” she said with a grin “I mean, risky of course, but still really cool.”

“I agree.” Yerin nodded grinning as well, brushing her hair back with her fingers “It’s like…” she paused a little and snorted, they looked at her and she shrugged “if it happens to be awkward, you can say you started your band two days before and” she chuckled, facing the two boys with a smile “you can say the same thing when it all works out.”

“If it works out.” Jae corrected, chortling and felt Brian chortle as well. Yerin shook her head.

“I’m pretty sure it’ll work out.” She grinned looking from him to Sungjin who was smiling his soft eye smile “I really am sure it will.” She repeated and Sungjin looked away nodding softly.

They fell silent again, the chilly breeze of the river with the last rays of sunlight brushing their cheeks.

There were many hopes and dreams floating among them, shining faintly like the inexistent diamonds on the surface of the running water and it was a wonderful feeling.

That moment there, standing together in silence, it felt like a promise.

Jae pulled Brian closer and blinked his emotions away.

Sure, it was reckless and it was a massive gamble but, shit, wasn’t life the most massive of gambles? Taking risks was exciting; it made routine worthwhile.

“Right, it’s cold” Jae said with a deep giddy sigh “and we can’t get ill. It’s risky enough with us at peak condition, it’ll be a mess if one of us loses his voice.” He saw Brian smiling before focusing on the others “Will Park Sungjin-ssi give us the honour of his company tonight at the dorms or what?”

Yerin and Jimin looked expectant but Sungjin shook his head with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, I’m really tired and I must wake up tomorrow at 6am…” he smiled softly and Jae winced, Brian pulled a face and Yerin’s lip quivered a little “I’ll be free at 3pm though.” He reminded them with a grin that either hid his pain at having to wake up so early or completely erased it.

“Tomorrow then?” Jimin suggested hopefully and he nodded.

“After our practice” Sungjin’s face lit up as he looked up at the boys “we can hang out after that, if you want.”

“Of course we want that!” Jimin exclaimed and Yerin nodded.

“Nothing would make this family happier than having the Legend in our midst.” Jae declared gravely. The others thought it was funny and laughed out loud.

“You’re gonna end up getting hit because of those silly jokes, Jae-ssi.” Sungjin threatened with a snort. Jae wasn’t sure if he meant it for real or not but he didn’t really care because Brian was right; it really was frustrating when you tried to say nice things to people and they refused to accept your compliments. Damn Park Sungjin not accepting their love.

“Let us appreciate you, Park Sungjin!” Jae countered and that time everyone, including Park Sungjin himself, laughed “And let’s take a group selfie to remember this great event.”

So they did, grinning at the camera with the river and the van in the background.

Jae wasn’t sure if he wanted to post that picture when he took a good look at it. It felt like something he would like to keep to himself like the recording of Brian reading poetry to him on the bus.

It was one of those things.

* * *

 

So, Sungjin went home to get himself some dinner and sleep and the music students went back to their dorms to hopefully get some coursework done after eating as well.

They were all very happy and very cheery, the laughs and banter very pleasant and stuff, until they got back to the parking place. They readied themselves for yet another walk through that awful floor. They were a lot closer now than before and they were all scared (rightfully so) of that damn floor. Yerin was the first to hold Jimin’s hand who looked a bit surprised but nodded holding Jae’s hand who took the cue and held Brian’s, who nodded.

(That shit wasn’t romantic; it was for _survival._ )

It was already dark and they didn’t have the warmth of daylight to keep the lost souls away, only the awful fluorescent light that gave the awful place that sickly yellowish glow.

It wasn’t raining, so no white noise, and that only made the silence even more anxiety-inducing.

Jae’s knees still hurt quite a bit, of course, especially after pushing Sungjin’s van, but the awful and painful climb up those horrible stairs was almost nice compared to what that floor made him feel. However, he had Brian and Jimin and Yerin, so it would be alright.

_It would be alright._

 “ _Seriously_ …” Jimin muttered with a huff “why can’t you hear anything on this floor?”

“I don’t know…” Yerin mumbled “But they heard noise yest—“

They heard the eerie sound of someone wheezing loudly and Jae breathed heavily looking around and almost instinctively tightening his grip on Jimin’s and Brian’s hands, widening his eyes and looking at their apprehensive faces.

“Who’s up for a sprint?” Yerin suggested, wildly looking at them. The vehement nods came immediately. They didn’t have to be told twice.

_(Nobody there wanted to be sacrificed to Satan.)_

So, they sprinted the hell out of that damned place as fast as they could.

They were panting and gasping for air when they finally reached the entrance floor and were _safe._ Away from the wheezing demons and the freaky floors.

“ _Fucking_ …” Jae groaned, wincing and holding back the urge to bend over and rub his aching knees “we should just…just start walking around the-the building…”

“It could be nothing…” Jimin suggested trying to catch her breath and Yerin shook her head “It could be someone…”

“That floor…is really messed up…God, I’d never heard anything in there!” She exclaimed and Jimin bit her lower lip, furrowing her eyebrows.

“And Wonpil-oppa got stuck in the bathroom…” She said and Jae scoffed.

“That was his own fault, mind you. Nobody told him to go there!” He complained.

“I…I kind of want to know what’s up…” Jimin confessed “But I’m also kind of scared…” Jae held up a trembling hand.

“I don’t want to fucking know. Let me live in blissful ignorance.” Jae declared dramatically which made the others chuckle anxiously.

Yerin chuckled glancing back and heaving a sigh.

“I’ll start walking around the building to get to my car.” She declared “And I’m not even ashamed of that.” Jae nodded gravely and Jimin sighed.

“I have a problem with curiosity… but I think it’s best to be safe…” Brian agreed, glancing at Jae with a small smile. Jae breathed heavily and they made their way up to the D-floor.

(Thank _God_ Brian didn’t have as much of a death wish as Jae thought he did.)

 

Jimin and Yerin also went to D-14 to see Wonpil and Dowoon and hear the details of their escapade.

Jae ranted that he should have been taken by the ghosts, in a way that had everyone doubling over with laughter and eased some of the tension, before he finally let Wonpil tell them the whole story.

“I’m sorry, hyung!” He apologised again, bowing profusely and Jae sighed heavily. He sat on his bed with Brian. Dowoon was sitting on Wonpil’s bed and Yerin and Jimin took their easy chairs. Wonpil was already sitting on the floor when they got there.

“Let’s hear your story, then.” Jae demanded and Wonpil nodded before he started telling his story. The all listened in silence, nodding and humming at times and gasping at the moments of tension. He told them everything. From the moment he’d gone to the C-floor, to the moment he’d found the door and then went poking his nose in the bathroom like an idiot, before getting locked inside.

Jae couldn’t fucking believe it.

“Hang on…” He asked raising his hand. All eyes fell on him “so you decided to follow that old-ass blueprint, thinking that it would be accurate even though it did not have the parking place, and you went to that fucking floor after we told you there was something weird about it?”

“Yes.” Wonpil nodded and Jae wanted to leave the room because that was seriously too dumb.

Silence.

“And Dowoonie went after you?”

Wonpil looked fondly at Dowoon who blushed a funny shade of red.

(Jae had the sudden feeling that his and Brian’s roommate had gotten their shit together but it didn’t show on his face because he was _a wonderful actor_.)

“You’re tempting fate.” He said gravely and everyone laughed.

“I was curious!” Wonpil repeated for the umpteenth time and he grinned. His grin worked on everyone else but him because he was still mad at him and he knew better.

(For worrying the shit out of him.

He wouldn’t tell him that, _of course._ )

“See, this is why people get mad at you.”

“You’re the only one who’s mad though.” Jimin chuckled and Jae glared at her.

( _Betrayal.)_

“Dowoon-oppa slammed the door open?” Yerin asked and Wonpil nodded. Jae saw Dowoon blush up to his ears and glance at Wonpil and he was _sure_ that something other than destroying public property had happened down there.

“I did…”

“With the hammer?” Jimin chuckled and Dowoon shook his head, looking at Wonpil who was clearly fighting back his laughter.

“He, he broke the lock first with the hammer and then he slammed against the door.” Wonpil explained and Dowoon huffed.

“Don’t laugh, idiot...” He muttered but Wonpil kept snickering.

Brian gasped and looked at his roommate.

“You slammed against it!?” He asked “Didn’t it hurt?”

“Not really?” Dowoon snorted, looking back at him and shrugging “It gave really easily.”

“It was scary!” Wonpil exclaimed but he didn’t look frightened _(like he deserved)_ at all “I almost fell when he started hitting the door with the hammer!”

Jae didn’t want to hear any more about it. He didn’t want to hear anything about the Frankie person that had been mentioned by the tenants of C-floor’s rooms, or about the locked doors, or the weird, empty corridors, or anything.

“Ah, I forgot to mention…” Dowoon snorted looking from Wonpil to the others. Jae huffed “I met a weird guy when I used the East Door.”

He proceeded to tell them a story about a weird koala guy that had latched onto him begging him to _save him from the dark_ (like Evanescence or some shit. Jae laughed a little) when there was a small power outage and then ran up the street with his asthma inhaler.

Everyone laughed at his story because the way Dowoon told the story and the genuine expressions he pulled made it sound both funny and cute.

“What did the guy look like?” Yerin asked chortling. Dowoon mused for a moment.

“Uh…tall, thin and a foreigner…” He started “I mean…” He paused and mused again “Maybe not a foreigner, he was speaking Korean perfectly.”

“Tall, thin and a foreigner…” Jimin repeated with a grin, glancing at Jae “So, basically it was Jae.” She teased "I'm joking, bro." She chuckled when she saw Jae's pursed lips and he squinted at her with a little smile as everyone laughed "There's some really weird people on that floor, it seems." She chuckled and everyone nodded in agreement.

“That's true but we gotta go practice.” Jae declared with a slight head shake, dropping the subject at once and getting up from his bed “And I don’t want to hear any more about this shit, I feel my brain frying with the amount crazy.” He scowled in Wonpil’s general direction. He wasn’t fazed by it and just grinned cutely at him, prompting everyone to laugh again.

“Good, so I’ll finally get the chance to practice the piano!” She chuckled and Yerin smiled but she paused a little before she spoke.

“You’re very good at it…” Yerin said, her whole face acquiring a cute shade of pink “I…I kind of heard you playing once…sorry…”

Jimin looked like she couldn’t believe it for a solid two seconds before her whole face blushed. _Hard._ Jae snorted.

(Jae suddenly had the very distinct feeling that not a single soul in that room was straight and that had to be the best shit ever.)

“Oh…” She muttered with a little smile “th-thank you, Yerin…”

“But…but if you want to practice…” Yerin started, and she cleared her throat “I have a keyboard in my room…I know we’re in different years but…I would like to have company and… I enjoy yours…” She blushed a little with a smile.

Jae couldn’t help smiling from ear to ear and was praying that Jimin wouldn’t bail.

( _Come on, James_.)

“That would be…that would be lovely, Yerin! Thank you!” She bowed her head a little and it was both silly and cute.

Yerin beamed and nodded as she stood up from the easy chair.

“A’ight, nerds.” Jae clapped his hands snapping them out of their awkwardness “Let’s go then, time to start being productive since next week will be the beginning of round one of Hell.” He said with a wistful sigh.

The reality of those words was more painful than Jae’s knees and Wonpil actually lied onto his side on the floor, groaning.

“Can Dowoonie sleep here tonight?” He mumbled from the floor and Jae blinked at him before he glanced at Brian who seemed not to oppose to the idea “I think I’m scared of sleeping alone…”

Jae gaped at him, falling silent and trying to look for support in his other friends. He saw Brian give him a meaningful smile and it helped some.

(Jae had heard many lies throughout his life but none had sounded as blatant as that one. It felt like that lie would materialise and set everyone’s pants on fire. That lie was so clearly untrue that Jae was surprised Jesus Himself didn’t come along to scold that sneaky man.

Jae, however, was a very good actor and a very good friend, mind you, so he decided to cover for Wonpil and not comment on it.)

Jimin pursed her lips and tried not to laugh and Yerin coughed a little, covering her laughter.

“Fine, then. I guess, I guess I’ll have to take Dowoonie’s bed tonight, then.” Jae declared dramatically opening his arms and everyone chuckled. Dowoon went bright red “Can I at least get my belongings before being kicked out of my own room?”

“Of course.” Wonpil said and he sat back up with a grin “I’m not kicking you out, hyung! We’ll only need one bed.”

He was killing Dowoon of embarrassment, Jae noticed before he scoffed theatrically and gathered his things to sleep over at the South Wing.

(What a terrible, _terrible_ thing it was. A hassle. _Truly horrible_.

Sleeping with Brian in the same room?

 _Horrific._ )

“Right, children.” He sighed after no longer than two minutes, stuffing his actual glasses in his pocket and propping his guitar bag on his shoulder. He looked down at everyone who wouldn’t be sleeping in his room with a nod “We’re ready to go.”

“Good.” Brian nodded back and smiled at the younger boys “Have a good night.”

“ _Behave_.” Jae said pointedly, squinting at Wonpil who was beaming brighter than the sun. Dowoon was also smiling, but it was sheepish and cute and _not disrespectful towards his seniors,_ like Wonpil’s, _the little snake._

 _‘You liar.’_ Jae mouthed in Wonpil general direction after everyone had already left the room and said their goodbyes and the little shit actually _winked_ at him.

_The nerve._

* * *

“They’re so cute…” Brian chuckled in English scrunching his nose when they were already in his room in the South Wing after wishing Yerin and Jimin a good night.

Jae sighed heavily.

“Should we have said that we know?” Brian asked with a grin.

“No.” Jae declared emphatically and taking Brian’s bed without a second look. He leaned his guitar and school bag against the bedside table and lied on his back with a deep sigh after toeing off his trainers. The lack of stress on his knees felt like a blessing. _Amen._ “They probably know that we know. Let’s keep it like that. If they want to tell us, they will.”

Brian nodded and sat on his easy chair, taking off his shoes as well.

“Agree.” He said before looking up at Jae with a smile “I already knew that Dowoonie liked Wonpil though.” Brian told him with a soft chuckle and Jae was truly baffled by that. He glanced over at Brian.

“What? _”_ He gaped in disbelief _“How?”_

“He told me.”

“ _Unbelievable.”_ Jae scoffed, looking at the ceiling and feeling a frown creep onto his face “That asshole didn’t even tell me they were, like, best buddies since God knows when.”

 _(_ Was he really that much of a shitty roommate? It was both hurtful and annoying.)

“To be fair” Brian started mildly, _appeasing_ even, smiling softly “Dowoonie only told me because I asked about the time he slept with Wonpil.”

Jae hummed a little and pursed his lips. Okay, _fair_.

_Still._

“When I asked, he just told me they were friends and that his intentions were pure” he grunted, feeling seriously disgruntled “he didn’t tell me anything else, the little shit.”

Brian was silent for a moment, with his lips puckered thoughtfully.

“Maybe he was scared to tell you?” He suggested with a shrug and Jae scoffed, looking at him, rolling to the side to stare at him with an unimpressed smile.

“Why? Because he thought I was a homophobe? That’s even more offensive, bro.” Brian snorted, looking back at him after he placed his shoes under the chair “Me, a homophobe.” Jae shook his head “Deep in the closet? _Sure_.” He offered with a shrug and Brian chuckled “But never a homophobe.”

“Deep in the closet.” Brian grinned amusedly, studying him with his disarming eyes “How deep?”

Jae scoffed almost feeling embarrassed to confess his shame.

(But it was Brian and he was just so far gone for this boy, that he could have given him his bank credentials.

_Yes, he was mad._

How deep he asked? Try deep as in _‘been-into-boys-as-well-as-girls-since-he-was-fifteen-and-never-even-thought-about-acting-on-it’_ deep, or _‘if-I-ignore-it-it’ll-just-go-away’_ deep, or even _‘I-like-girls-too-so-I-can-just-pretend-to-be-straight-indefinitely’_ deep, or the best kind of deep – _25-year-old-repressed-bisexual-who-came-out-for-the-first-time-ever-4-days-ago_.

It was sad to say the least.)

Jae wanted to come up with a grand dramatic metaphor for how deep he’d been and he had it on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t remember it. He glanced at Brian having the feeling that Mr National Geographic would know.

“What’s the name of that thing in the Pacific Ocean that is the deepest...” He didn’t even get to finish what he was saying because Brian’s face lit up with a grin and he immediately told him.”

“Mariana’s Trench!” He exclaimed before he burst out laughing “That _is_ deep!”

Jae chortled heartily.

(What an adorable nerd.)

“I was even deeper, I’m afraid.” Jae told him gravely “I believe I was floating somewhere near the nucleus of the planet.”

“The nucleus!” Brian echoed before he guffawed, clearly having a field day with the lame references and that was exactly what Jae was aiming for.

(His laughter that sounded just like a melody. It was comforting. Made it all worth it.)

“Well, now I’m not that deep.” He chuckled, unable to contain the happiness that showed on his face _very clearly_ “I mean, I did feel like dying once or twice” he said airily, as if the feeling hadn’t been a recurrent feeling during the time he’d had his eyes on Brian “but I managed out of it. This stuff” he sighed before cringing at himself because of what he was going to say “this stuff is what inspires cheesy love songs, bro.”

The sound of Brian’s laughter died out but Jae saw from the corner of his eye that he was still looking at him and smiling all the way up to his eyes.

Jae’s heart jammed against his ribcage and he was just so overwhelmed, trying to cool himself down (because _he was not a damn teenager in love_ ), that he didn’t notice when Brian got up from his chair and sat beside him until he felt the bedsprings shift under his weight and barely managed to hold back a gasp, blinking up at him.

“ _Rude._ ” Jae breathed before he chuckled when he leaned over him, _boldly_ , as Jae would have expected, and placed his hands on each side of Jae’s head and stared down at him, _silently_ , smiling softly yet fiercely, his cheeks rosy despite his burning gaze.

(Jae thought that it was about time to unleash all of his poetic potential because that proximity, the warmth, the scent, everything about that was making him feel things he couldn’t even name.

Things that just made him want _to yell_.)

Jae felt the familiar anticipating warmth pool in his chest. His cheeks felt about as warm as the contact.

“You’re gonna say something that’ll kill the mood, aren’t you?” Jae chortled and Brian’s face split into a wide grin.

“Probably.” Brian chuckled “What do you want for dinner?” Brian asked and Jae almost cried. “I have instanoodles, hyung.” He whispered, his voice throaty and seductive, despite his playful smile and Jae immediately lost it. _He knew it._ He knew _exactly what_ he’d fallen for _._ “They’re excellent quality!”

Jae lost it.

“And they say that romance is dead!” Jae cackled, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. Brian chortled and leaned his head against Jae’s chest “They clearly, clearly haven’t been seduced by Mr Kang and his instanoodles.” Jae joked breathlessly.

(When they got out of school, they would have to go through an instanoodles detox.

 _For real._ )

“Do you want them or not?” Brian chortled, still looming over him, speaking softly “I can make something else, if you don’t feel like noodles again.”

Jae pinched his warm cheek and relished the smile under his fingers and the way he shut his eyes. So damn _cute._

“I’m good with noodles, nerd, I ain’t picky.” He chuckled, letting go of Brian’s cheek and smoothing it with his thumb. He saw Brian’s features soften when he brought his hand up to his head and carded his fingers through his black hair. Jae’s heart fluttered dumbly when he felt Brian lean into the touch and close his eyes “I’m used to the garden variety of radioactive noodles, too.” Jae chuckled softly and his eyes fell on Brian’s rosy lips that he wanted to try so badly. He unconsciously licked his own lips. “Someone likes hair touches, does he?” Jae joked watching Brian grin before he opened his eyes again and nodded slowly.

Jae almost stopped breathing when Brian swiftly leaned in and pressed his lips against his.

_Just like that._

(Unexpected and a little overwhelming, Jae would admit but _finally._ )

It wasn’t much more than a close-mouthed lip lock but Jesus.

_Jesus._

Brian’s lips felt like _fire_ on his. He pressed them closer, pulling Brian’s head towards him with the hand he had there.

It felt unreal, almost like something warm and liquid was oozing out of his chest and running through his skin like a less deadly version of lava. He almost looked down to check if it wasn’t blood. He swallowed hard, gaping at him and seeing him flushed and smiling.

It was over before Jae could actually hear the angels sing and all that crazy stuff because Brian broke the contact and looked at him in the eyes. His whole face was glowing with his dazzling smile.

Jae wished he could snap a picture of that.

His heart felt like it was the size of a balloon (which would be horrible, if it was real) but he couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his face. Jae held Brian in place with his hand on his head and stared up at him, his lips parted and his face burning.

“Did you just steal our first kiss?” Jae squinted at him and Brian grinned.

(Smashing a guitar and _barely_ grazing his lips with his couldn’t really count when compared to _that._ )

“I guess I did?” He muttered cheekily “Was it bad?” He pouted a little and Jae kneed the small of his back but it was stupid idea because despite how numb he felt his knees still hurt. He hurt himself more than he hurt Brian.

(Brian deserved to get hit though. Because _bad_ was the most inaccurate adjective to describe that damn kiss.

His heart felt like it would _explode._ )

“ _Quiet_.” Jae demanded with a pained chuckle “Where was my warning?” Jae chortled feeling his hands a little numb when gestured dramatically _“My drama!?_ ”

“No drama, sorry.” Brian chuckled a little and licked his lips before looking at Jae’s knees before looking back at Jae’s face with a slightly upset look on his flushed face “You’re hurt.” He stated and Jae could barely react because how could he even notice that after _that_?

“It’s nothing, don’t sweat it.” Jae said nonchalantly, clicking his tongue. It was annoying to be caught after trying so hard to hide it.

“You were in pain the whole day.” Brian continued and he looked legitimately upset “I knew that something was wrong.” Jae groaned, covering his face with his hands as Brian got away from him and stood up, walking over to his desk. He looked at him.

“What is that?” Jae asked with a furrow between his brows, pointing at the thing Brian had just pulled out of his desk’s drawer.

“Bruise cream.” Brian informed before standing up and walking over to Jae who rolled his eyes. _Seriously._

“I said it’s fine, bro, come o-o-on…” He groaned.

“Show me your knees, please.” Brian requested, kneeling in front of him looking up at him. Jae had no choice but to comply because Brian had already knelt. He sat on the edge of the bed and begrudgingly pulled up his pants’.

That was a weird angle and with the face he was making it looked like he’d kicked his dog or something and was trying to apologise for it.

( _This damn guy_.)

“Why do you look so guilty, idiot?” Jae complained with a snort, patting his head and watching him shut his eyes at the gesture and chuckle. _Cute_. “I know I am the epitome of humbleness, but I like being spoiled.” He snubbed his nose and Brian chuckled. Jae flicked his forehead and he gasped a little before giggling. _Damn adorable_. “Kneeling in front of me and giving me that look.” Jae huffed and shook his head “You’re truly a Poison Dart Frog.”

Brian smiled up at him blushing a little before pursing his lips “I’m sorry.”

“Besides” Jae proceeded, ignored what Brian had said “I know you’re good with your hands, so I trust you on this. Give your _hyung_ a good ol’ rub.” He smiled, ruffling his hair a little and watching him chortle.

 “Yeah… _boy_....” Brian grinned and glanced up at him, laughing silently as he squeezed some cream onto his fingers.

That was a meme, of course, and Brian had gotten the lame reference.

Jae only realised what he’d said sounded like it’d come straight out of gay porn ( _ah_ ) a moment later, after Brian touched his tender knees with the cold cream, which made him jerk his knee and wince a little.

(Protip: Don’t throw in Korean when you’re speaking English. The gender specific honorifics can be awkward out of context.)

 “ _Ow_ …I didn’t think that through.” Jae groaned when Brian gently started rubbing the cream on his knees “That sounded like – _oh shit_ – a line from a gay porn …”

Brian cackled and shut his eyes before looking up at Jae who laughed along and shook his head, before Brian started working on the other knee. It hurt but Brian was careful. Jae couldn’t help the warmth that crept onto his face and the tingling feeling that had started with the kiss.

(Jae wasn’t sure if he could handle that in a respectful and PG fashion. What was getting to him was the intimacy of the touch and how caring it felt. Jae felt ripples of warmth mixed with pain shoot up legs.

_Ay.)_

“With the noises you’re making that’s also what it sounds like.” Brian joked with a snort.

Jae’s heart was drumming hard against his ribs and he was going to joke back but suddenly someone knocked on the door and Jae saw that he wasn’t the only one to look extra jumpy because of it.

“It’s Kevin… can I come in?” It was Kevin’s voice and it sounded kind of uncertain. Brian looked at Jae who returned him with an equally puzzled look. Neither of them had invited their friend over.

“Sure.” Brian said and Kevin opened the door. Jae immediately saw that he was excited about something despite the uncertainty of his smile “Take a seat.” Brian offered getting off the bed and rubbing his hands on his jeans, looking worried “Something good happen, Kevin-hyung?”

“The C-floor.” Kevin said, sitting on one of the easy chairs and looking from one boy to the other.

“The C-floor is _not_ a good thing.” Jae countered, frowning “Don’t tell me you went there?” He asked with a groan.

(What was it with these people’s death wishes?

_For real.)_

“I was curious, alright?” Kevin chuckled.

_(Deja fucking vu.)_

He didn’t talk for a moment looking from Jae to Brian and frowning curiously.

“Why weren’t you seeing your texts?” He asked Jae before his eyes fell on his exposed legs and his shiny knees “And why are your pants pulled up?” He pointed

“Phone’s on silent.” Jae told him and he hummed with a nod “And my knees are hurt, Brian was helping me with that.” He paused and frowned “Why are you asking about those things, bro?” He snorted raising an eyebrow “Did you come here to _specifically_ check if my knees weren’t exposed?” He sassed. Brian legitimately choked and Jae patted his back to see that he was okay.

“I heard some noise when I stood outside...” Kevin confessed with a furrow between his brows, smiling a little, suspicious. Jae knew that he meant his moans but he was having none of that. The aggravation made up for any embarrassment he could have felt.

“It was me, I was moaning like a pornstar because Brian was massaging my bruised knees.” He informed him and Kevin looked a bit taken aback. It didn’t faze Jae but Brian covered the grin on his face before chuckling “Can we move along to what brought you here?”

Kevin smiled impishly before sighing heavily and shaking his head.

“Right, I saw some really weird shit on that floor, guys!” He said dramatically.

Silence.

“What did you see?” Brian asked hesitantly.

Kevin breathed heavily and rubbed his face before he started.

“So, I went there, right? You said it was dead silent most of the time, and it was, right? I was there, and that was also the first thing I noticed” he breathed and Brian nodded. Jae almost wanted to cry.

“So, I was there, and there was nobody in the corridors, so I” Kevin breathed with a grin “I tried the kitchen. Also empty, of course. And guys…” he gestured ardently with his hands “it was squeaky clean, like, _spotless_ ” he told them emphatically and Brian widened his eyes “no trash, no dirty countertops, no dirty dishes in the sink. _Immaculate_.” He paused again to breathe and Jae knew he was getting to the point “So I tried checking the fridge, just out of curiosity…” He paused again and Jae had already closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows “ _nothing._ ”

( _For fucking real,_ why had Kevin decided to play _Ghostbusters_ when he was having such a lovely time with Brian? Why had he decided to come here and tell them that shit? Why were all his friends _idiots_?)

Jae and Brian didn’t say anything for a solid two seconds.

“What?” Jae asked.

“ _Nothing._ ” Kevin repeated, gesturing with hands “There was nothing there.”

Silence.

“You mean as in...” Brian started and Kevin clarified.

“As in no food whatsoever. Completely empty.”

More silence.

“That’s odd...” Brian muttered, exchanging a look with Jae who had closed his eyes and started praying ( _as one does_ ) “maybe they just keep their food in, in their rooms...” Brian suggested, looking back at Kevin who looked like his tale wasn’t over yet.

“Yeah, I thought about that too.” He said before he leaned forward again, looking almost too excited for it to be healthy. Jae wanted to hit him with the book on Brian’s bedside table “But get this... the door to one of the bathrooms there was _smashed_. It looked like the Hulk had destroyed it!” He said with a grin and pulled out his phone. Jae breathed in relief and saw Brian do the same.

That wasn’t scary. They knew who _that_ Hulk was.

They looked at the picture when Kevin walked over to them and showed it because they wanted to know the extent of the damage. Kevin wasn’t exaggerating. The lock had literally been ripped off along with a large chunk of plywood. The door itself was hanging by two of its three hinges.

“ _Holy shit.”_ Jae muttered with a chuckle, glancing at Brian who had covered his mouth and widened his eyes.

“I hope nobody rats him out.” Brian mumbled, shaking his head “Since he was seen…”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Kevin asked sounding a little disappointed already and Jae snorted, feeling rather happy to destroy his ideas about the ghosts.

“Dowoon did that.”

Kevin gasped and almost dropped his phone.

“Are you serious!? Dowoon?”

“Yeah, Wonpil was locked inside for some reason and couldn’t open it.” Brian explained with a worried smile “And Dowoon just... well, you saw it better than we did.”

“ _Holy shit.”_ Kevin chortled with wide eyes “I’m not sure if I should feel disappointed or impressed.”

“Get out of here, you weirdo!” Jae scoffed and Kevin cackled, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff, I can’t help it! I just needed to get this out of my system…” Kevin sighed and shook his head “I knocked on Jimin’s door but she wasn’t there.”

“She is with Yerin.” Brian explained and Kevin made a small noise of acknowledgment.

“And then I knocked on your door” he pointed at Jae “and nobody answered.”

Brian chortled a little and glanced at Jae who snorted.

“Wonpil is there with Dowoon.” Brian explained offhandedly and Kevin hummed.

“Yeah, we’re trading roommates for the night.” Jae chortled and Kevin clearly didn’t think it was particularly weird, and if he did, he decided not to comment on it for the sake of the ghost stories “Wonpil is scared of sleeping alone.”

Kevin furrowed his brows and snorted.

“He wouldn’t be sleeping alone.”

“Alone in _his bed_.” Jae clarified with a smirk “I’m not against cuddling my friends, but I ain’t cuddling a snake, I value my life.” Brian laughed at the _half-_ joke.

“ _Oh_ ” Kevin acknowledged before snorting “right.” He clearly didn’t care about the gossip as much as he cared about the ghosts “Did Wonpil say why the door to the bathroom had locked?”

“He said it was probably the wind.” Brian said and Kevin sneered. Jae didn’t like his triumphant look.

“Sure, _the wind_. I’m sure I’ve watched that movie.” Kevin scoffed. Jae genuinely wanted to hit him over the head with something.

_For real._

“Alright, Kevin. Goodbye, Kevin. It was great to hang out with you.” Jae said very loudly and very dramatically, gesturing him off “Shoo, shoo.”

Kevin laughed.

“You’re really a chicken!” He teased and Jae nodded.

“Yes, I am.” He confirmed before he changed his mind “Not even a chicken, I’m still an egg. Off you go, Venkman. We still want to eat and practice before going to sleep.”

Kevin snorted and nodded a little.

“I didn’t know what I should do tonight before bed” he said with a grin “Thanks for the suggestion, I’m gonna rewatch Ghostbusters.” He declared and Jae rolled his eyes “See you tomorrow, probably” he said with a grin “I feel like sleeping in.”

“Go, go.” Jae hurried emphatically and Brian chuckled.

“Good night, Kevin. You’re welcome in here... just not with those stories.” He scrunched his nose and Kevin chortled.

“Thanks for the tip!” He winked before opening the door and grinning cheekily “Get in Brian’s bed too if you’re scared, Jae.” He teased and Jae almost flipped him off.

(Was it possible that this guy also knew that he was into Brian all along?

 _That was not fair_.)

“Oh, and tell me how your practice goes tomorrow, I’m looking forward to the concert on Sunday!” Kevin requested beaming brightly “Send pictures and vids to the group chat.”

“We’ll do that.” Brian promised with a nod “Sungjin is probably coming home with us.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Kevin beamed happily “Maybe you can play for us a bit, then, spoil a bit of the concert?” He suggested and Brian chuckled before shrugging.

“We’ll see what happens.” Jae declared, shrugging “Don’t go snooping around that floor again, you fool.” Jae grunted and Kevin chuckled.

“Okay, Chickenman, I won’t. Good night, guys.”

“It’s _Brokeman_!” Jae snorted in response but Kevin cackled and left without another word “This freak…” He huffed, shaking his head a little before he thought about his fucking story again “Why did he have to come here to tell us this?” He groaned.

“We’re not on C-floor, though.” Brian reminded him with a mild smile standing up “Nothing weird has ever happened on this floor, expect the guy from SW-9 running around naked at 3am.”

“Was he high?” Jae snorted and Brian chuckled.

“Yeah.” Brian confirmed as he stood up “It was a mess, the warden came over and everything.” Jae hissed and shook his head.

“Bro, I won’t lie to you, I’ve done some pot too, but I’ve never pulled that kind of stuff.” Jae said and Brian chuckled.

“Same, don’t worry, no judging here.” He chuckled and Jae looked rather pleased at the information “I usually just feel sleepy and happy.”

“Me too.” Jae snorted before yawning and looking at the dark window, lashed by the pouring rain again.

“How are you feeling?” Brian asked quietly and Jae shrugged. His hands were trembling a bit because he had an actual phobia of that kind of shit.

“Well, aside from being scared shitless? Could be worse. It’s already feeling less painful!” He said sarcastically.

“That’s because the cream has analgesic properties.” Brian explained with a smile “I’m glad it doesn’t hurt that much anymore.” He paused and smiled “You can really get in my bed if you’re scared.” He informed him with a little wink and Jae chortled, looking over at him.

(He just couldn’t get enough of Brian and his erratic behaviour.)

“Might as well just get in bed together right off the bat, yeah?” Jae grinned and Brian smiled with a nod.

“That’s what I was thinking.” He confessed and Jae chortled “I’ll go get the food.” Brian smiled after he slipped his feet into his, well, his slippers.

“Where’s the kitchen?” Jae asked motioning to get up but Brian raised a hand, silently telling him to stay where he was “Are you serious?” Brian nodded with pursed lips and Jae could tell that he was dead serious “I’m not dying, you idiot.” He protested, more like sulked, because he didn’t want to move anyway but that was _irrelevant_.

(He didn't really like to be babied.)

“The kitchen is one room away” Brian told him mildly, apologetically even, smiling “I’m not saying you’re dying... or implying that you can’t stand” he added and Jae snorted, looking up at him from the bed “I just, don’t strain your knees, please” Brian sighed softly, brushing his own hair back “you’ll be standing on them tomorrow and stuff so…”

“Oh, so this is about the concert?” Jae chuckled and Brian shrugged a little.

“Kind of.” He said with an airy smile walking to the door “I won’t take long, babe.”

Jae gaped at the closed door behind Brian.

_Babe._

Brian Kang had just called him _babe._

_Ay, corazón._

He actually clutched his chest.

(He didn’t need Kenshiro to tell him that he was _already dead_ because he was well aware of that.)

Jae lied down again and rolled onto his side, sighing deeply with a giddy tired smile, glancing around the room. He wasn’t going to touch anything, mind you, he was just looking since he’d had no time to properly look around the first time he’d been there.

They had an actual battery in Dowoon’s side of the room along with one acoustic guitar and Brian had two guitars, one acoustic and one electric, and surprisingly (or not) there was also a massive electric bass. He knew that Brian took a couple courses that he didn’t but he didn’t know what they were because he hadn’t asked yet.

That’s when he realised that he hadn’t known Brian for a long time despite the feeling that he’d known him since forever. He’d actually seen him for the first time six months before and had only started talking to him four days ago. What he’d done had basically been attach what he’d been told in those four days to what he’d picked up from six months of his shamefully repressed crush. It was actually pretty cool that Brian was so straightforward and put great effort in honest and open communication because Jae was rather sure that that was the main reason why they’d gotten so close so quickly.

(Dancing around each other for a whole semester was irrelevant.

 _Irrelevant._ )

Still, he wanted to know more about Brian.

The details, he wanted _the details._

He wanted to know what he liked ( _aside from music and poetry_ ) and what he disliked _(aside from disrespectful assholes)_. He wanted to know his embarrassing childhood stories. He wanted to know about his family. About his hopes and dreams, about his friends in Canada.

_Everything._

In short, he wanted to know stuff that didn’t sound like a dull biography you’d read in the back cover of a book. Something that was fleshed out with trivia and _life._

Maybe he would request all that later. He reached over the edge of the bed and grabbed his bag to get the book he’d borrowed from Brian the previous day.

He was actually enjoying the poems but he hadn’t gone very far in the book. He found that he couldn’t read a lot of poems in the same go since he had to reread them more than once to give some shape to the thoughts they induced.

It was a good kind of weird feeling, though.

* * *

 

Brian was daydreaming when he went to the kitchen and he daydreamt all the way through the kettle boiling the water up to the moment when he opened the packages and put the noodles in two bowls, after making some toast.

His mind was so full of Jae he could barely stand it.

It felt like something he could pull out of his skull if he wanted to.

He felt dizzy and tingly all over and he wanted to sing, or scream, or maybe a bit of both, along with maybe a somersault (which would definitely end disastrously) and a couple tears.

There were so many flurrying feelings swirling around in his head that he thought he would actually pass out. He wasn’t complaining though. It had been a long time since he’d felt like being crazy. That he felt _legitimately_ _crazy._

Jae thought and said that he was nuts, and he had the right to think so, all things considered, but the truth was that Brian was generally calmer than he was wild.

It was one thing when he was challenged, he was too prideful to back down from a challenge, but this time was different. Jae hadn’t challenged him at all; he had just suggested stuff and Brian, in his thunderstruck state, had just rolled with it and dragged him along. He didn’t know that Jae already had a thing for him when they first started talking though and he wasn’t even aware of his own feelings by then, aware of what they could become.

If he had to explain what he felt, he would probably say something weird like: it’s like that feeling when you want to dip your hands in lava because it just looks so smooth and shiny; you know you’ll hurt yourself badly, but the urge is almost unbearable.

* * *

 

Brian decidedly wasn’t thinking when he thought that bringing two bowls with steaming hot instanoodles in his hands down the corridor was a clever idea. The kitchen was one door away from his room and it was cold outside but the heat still seeped through and hurt his fingertips.

“Fuck!” He swore loudly when he was already reaching the door. He heard the sound of the bedsprings moving with the lack of Jae’s weight followed by the very distinct sound of wincing and muttered swearing. Then the door clicked open.

“What happened!?” Jae asked looking wildly at him and then around him before his eyes fell on his hands and he very helpfully pulled the sleeves of his sweater over his palms. Brian thanked him and was happy to put them there

“Go rinse your fingers.” Jae shook his head with a snort “That was so dumb, bro!”

“I know, I didn’t think it through! I’ll be right back.” Brian smiled and left for the kitchen again.

He had to go back anyway, Jae noticed, to get the drinks and the bread.

“How are your fingers?” Jae asked with a little smirk when Brian returned.

“They’re fine. I didn’t hold them for long enough for it to actually burn.” He explained with a chuckle showing him his unscarred fingertips. Jae had put the bowls on the windowsill, which was also what he usually did when he brought his instanoodles over to the room.

“I put them there because they’re too hot” Jae said “and it’s colder there.”

“I do that too.” Brian grinned before he handed Jae a handful of toast and glass of water while he was still standing up in front of his bed. They sat down on Brian’s bed again and silently ate the toast.

“We’re going to practice tonight, aren’t we?” Jae asked and Brian smiled, looking at him with his mouth full of bread.

“Yep.” He said after chasing the bread with some water “We won’t be free this weekend and next week” he sighed heavily, Jae felt the dread deep in his soul as well “next week we have stuff to write and a lot to study.”

“I’ll borrow your notes.” Jae stated and Brian nodded “And it would be cool if you could look over my essays as well, like, you’ve seen how I write.” He shook his head and Brian chuckled.

“I said it was fine to do that.” He smiled “We can study together, too.” He sounded innocent but Jae wasn’t and he didn’t make an effort to hide it.

“I may get distracted” he said with a cheeky grin “and feel the urge to finally call Greenpeace.” Brian snorted and almost choked on his food. Jae continued with the banter, because that was his speciality. He put his hand against his ear as if it were a phone and furrowed his eyebrows, pulling the most serious look he could muster.

“Hello? Greenpeace Korea? Yes. This is Park Jaehyung speaking” they’d been speaking in English up to that point but he shifted to Korean to make his pretend call to Greenpeace Korea, of course “I am a concerned citizen and I became aware that recently a massive chunk of ice detached itself from Antarctica…” he paused dramatically as Brian lost it, looking at him, lost being amused and exasperated “yes, it is very dramatic indeed, I know. I would like to inform you that I have found the culprit” pause, he looked at Brian and squinted “yes, he is right here. His name is Kang Younghyun and I am sure that it was because of his smile that it melted off…” pause, dramatic stare “no, of course I’m not crazy! I’m telling you! You have not seen this guy!” pause again “Don’t call the loony bin, I’m serious! This is like a second sun on…” he pulled the hand off his ear and looked at Brian seeing him flush adorably and purse his lips “they hung up.” Jae said dramatically, fighting off his own smile and finishing up his toast.

“You’re so silly, hyung.” Brian chuckled nudging Jae’s thigh with his knee.

“You clearly don’t mind it, Mr National Geographic.” Jae teased, letting his smile creep onto his face. Brian squeezed his eyes shut and got up, shaking his head. He walked over to the bowls and picked them up before bringing them over to the bed again and handing one over to Jae.

Jae made good on his resolve to learn the details and that wasn’t something he usually did with his love interests, as bad as that might sound, sometimes he just couldn’t be bothered, especially when the person in question was too talkative.

He wanted to listen to Brian and it wasn’t _just_ because he liked the sound of his voice.

 

They talked for a long time even after they’d finished their instanoodles (which were indeed good quality).

Brian had jokingly suggested that they played 20 questions but Jae had said it was lame and they hadn’t done that. They went about it the regular way. _Talking_ , as one does.

Jae learnt that Brian took dance and bass (ah!) and that he didn’t have any siblings. They had a moment talking about their families and home and how much they missed them and ended up with Jae frowning to hide the shimmer of his teary eyes.

“We should have, we should have played 20 questions” Jae blubbered onto his hand, chortling a little “I promise I’m not a crybaby.” He chuckled “I just really miss my family and the burritos, bro.”

Brian didn’t say anything though. He just smiled softly and circled Jae’s waist with his arm before leaning his head against his shoulder.

Jae held him back and chuckled. That was exactly what he needed. He didn’t like words when he felt vulnerable and he didn’t know if Brian had already got that or if that was how he comforted people, but either way, he felt immensely grateful for it.

(He wasn’t even sure if he deserved to have his feelings returned by a guy that clearly deserved the entire world and more.

 _Okay, Jae, stop that shit. You deserve happiness as much as the next person. You’ve been through this. No self-loathing._ )

He glanced down at Brian and noticed that his eyes were also shining a little. He kissed his temple on impulse but relished the look on his face, his flushed cheeks and his smile.

“Right” he cleared his throat and chuckled “if I get into a mellow mood, we’ll never get to practice. So let’s get to work.”

Brian smiled softly and untangled his arm from around Jae’s waist and got up. Jae’s heart skipped a beat and he didn’t really know why.

It was probably the comforting silence.

* * *

 

And that was definitely the most productive evening Jae had had in a while. Jae also found out that practicing with Brian was both easy and healthy.

Brian didn’t talk much, for one, and he was completely focused on what they were doing, when they took turns to play. They only spoke when it had something to do with what they were doing. Jae loved the company ( _quite literally_ ) and the constructive feedback, that he was also happy to provide. Brian was literally the only person in their group that also live in that hall of residence (he’d bothered informing himself better after the shock of finding out Brian lived there too, mind).

Like, _sure_ , he didn’t mind practicing with any of his other friends in the room (including Wonpil, _yes_ ) but it was kind of awkward because they were from distinct groups and there was no denying it, it was kind of distracting and perhaps a bit annoying.

“I’m starting to get hungry again” Brian confessed with a chuckle after what felt like hours, getting away from the wall he was leaning against with Jae. Brian yawned loudly and groaned before stretching, his guitar almost falling off his lap. He clutched it in his arms to prevent it from falling and Jae chortled hoarsely. His throat was dry and he was also feeling hungry again.

It really had been hours. They’d started singing at some point during their practice and gotten distracted from their actual homework.

They had even come up with some really silly lyrics for the _lyricless_ song they had to practice for class. Jae exercised his unpractised poetry skills and got praised by Great Poet Brian Kang, which made him feel proud as fuck because Brian was the real deal when it came to poetry, no matter what he said about being just average.

“I guess this is enough.” Jae yawned as well and pulled Mary’s bag towards him to store her in it “You got any snacks around? I could use some.”

Brian nodded as he got up from the bed and walked over to his instrument corner and placed it beside his bass and his electric guitar. He opened one of the drawers of his desk and procured a pack of chocolate chip biscuits and one of shortbread fingers from it before looking back at Jae with a grin.

“I’m thirsty, I’m gonna get some milk.” Brian said after they’d eaten most of the snacks and Jae coughed and nodded.

“I was gonna say that.” Jae chuckled a little before looking up at him after his eyes fell on the book on Brian’s bedside table “You know, Fred Wah is nice, but I would really like to read some of your stuff.” He smiled "Am I worth reading poet Kang's works?"

Brian pursed his lips, exasperated, but didn’t say anything. He was clearly hesitating but he relented quickly. Jae prided himself in his persuasive skills but Brian seemed to have a tough time refusing him things, so it was different. Jae would not use that to coax him into things he _actually_ didn’t want to do. However, he was really curious to read Brian’s poems. It was harmless, really, he knew that it was tough to share that kind of stuff when it meant something personal to you. He just wanted to know more about this man. He wanted to know _everything_ about him.

“There’s, uh” Brian sighed with a smile “there are lyrics in there as well” he explained when he handed Jae his mysterious notebook that Jae had been wanted to peek into for a long time “some of them are kind of rubbish, and, and, uh, I’ve marked them as such.” Brian chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck “I’ve never showed this to anybody either so, uh, yeah. I’ll be right back with the milk.”

“Okay, you nerd” Jae chuckled, gesturing him to bugger off “I know it’s awkward to share this kind of stuff, chill out.”

Brian smiled and sighed.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the door before he stopped and looked back “Uh… there are some that, that are about you.” He confessed blushing hard “I’m sorry.”

Jae couldn’t react before Brian left the room.

_About him?_

He flicked through the pages with trembling fingers and stopped by several works marked as ‘lyrics’ and ‘possible lyrics’ and even ‘rubbish’ (they weren’t _that_ rubbish in Jae’s opinion) and then he found the actual poems, one of which, Jae realised, he’d seen him writing during class and he realised with a pang that it was one of the ones about him.

His heart beat fast and he wanted to cry because how could he have inspired that stuff? It wasn’t your regular ‘ _love_ ’ poetry. They felt like Brian had been trying to figure out his own feelings, the confusion and his inability to figure out what he felt and what Jae felt was quite easy to pick up from them. Brian’s writing wasn’t at all like Fred Wah’s. It wasn’t particularly demanding on the interpretation. It felt warm, like he’d just scribbled away in an attempt to pour out his emotions, without bothering about form or anything like that. Some of his poems barely rhymed, but the musicality, and the sound and silence thing he’d talked about, were all there.

Jae was shook as fuck.

When Brian returned with the milk, Jae was still reading his stuff and he was tearing up for the second time that night.

Brian didn’t say anything as he handed Jae a glass of milk that he drank in a single breath before looking up at Brian who was also drinking his milk. When he finished, Jae closed and put the notebook aside, hopped off the bed and threw himself at him, trapping him in his arms. Brian chuckled, holding him back.

“Don’t say anything” Jae requested as he tightened the hug. But of course Brian already knew that he wasn’t supposed to speak, because he didn’t “your lyrics are brilliant and your poems, the poems…” he sighed and he got away from him before leaning down a little to press his lips against Brian’s in an urgent kiss. Brian’s face went bright red but he smiled happily “They’re bomb as fuck, bro!”

“I’m glad, I’m glad you liked them…” Brian chuckled a little and sighed, leaning his head against Jae’s shoulder “it means a lot that you liked them…”

“Yeah, and I know that the beds are tiny but I’m also very scared of sleeping alone” Jae declared, more like reminded, and Brian grinned “I am requesting to fall in bed with you.”

“What about your knees?”

“Fuck that. I’ll coat them in your cream if something happens.” Jae argued and Brian chuckled before nodding.

“Platonic sleeping together?”

Jae snorted.

“Sort of.” Jae shrugged “I’ll keep my hands to myself, if that’s what you mean by platonic.” He said and Brian chortled “Other than that, no, it’s not platonic.” He confessed looking at him the eyes “Because I actually fucking love you as more than a friend.”

“Right.” Brian smiled softly and pecked his chin and it was so incredibly cute that Jae almost cried again “I don’t think I need to say that I love you too.” He mumbled gently and Jae almost whimpered because this man.

_This man was everything and more.  
_

* * *

 

 

That night, when Jae got rid of his frames, didn’t really feel exposed without them anymore.

He got his pyjamas and his other stuff from his bag where he’d stuff them earlier and got his actual glasses out of his pocket.

However, he would only take off his contacts when he was really going to bed because this time he wanted to let his eyes linger just for a bit on the exposed skin of Brian’s back. His lean muscles and his soft looking flesh were gorgeous as were the dimples on the small of his back and his straight shoulders.

_Ay, corazón._

_(What?_ God and Jesus wouldn’t mind him admiring the view _now that he had consent.)  
_

Jae licked his lips and when Brian looked back at him, already in his pyjamas. Jae was already in his as well.

“What’s up?” Brian asked with a cheeky smile.

“I can’t believe you like me back… when I’m a tall, lanky, foolish chicken…” Jae muttered with a chuckle, shaking head “I should write a song called ‘Why do you even like me’...” He breathed, leaning back on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm and snorting.

Brian didn’t speak for a moment and Jae was just kind of trying to make himself chill out because he suddenly felt very warm all over, especially on his damn face. It felt like he was dreaming, still.

His chest felt so full because of the man in the loose white pyjamas standing just a couple of steps away from him. It felt like it would start oozing whatever love actually looked like if you cut through his skin.

He was so lost in his own definitely cheesy and infatuated thoughts that he only noticed that Brian had lied down beside him when he felt the mattress give under his weight and felt his warmth and his scent really close to him. Jae’s heart felt like it’d done a somersault in his chest at the surprise.

“You’re beautiful, Jae.” Brian said softly, smiling, and Jae uncovered his eyes to look at him “And those aren't bad things.” He declared, looking him in the eyes, looking mildly upset “You’re also talented and a gentle person, and” he licked his lips, narrowing his eyes “I may hit you, if you say that kind of stuff like it’s bad again.” He threatened before he fell silent.

“It feels like I’ve known you for ages and, and this stuff I feel is just…” he sighed with a soft chuckle “I can’t explain it.”

Jae could relate to the last bit and it was certainly nice to be reassured, he wouldn't lie.

Brian was lying sideways, supporting his head on his hand, his elbow on the mattress and a shadowy smile on his face because he’d turned off the ceiling light and only the bedside-table lamp was on. Jae felt hot everywhere and his heart felt like it would come out of his chest. _Ay._

“You sappy idiot.” Jae chuckled, his heart racing giddily “But I second that, this stuff is crazy but I would, I would change nothing.” He mumbled softly, putting his arm around Brian’s neck and relishing his smile, so close to him “Kiss me.” He requested but he didn’t have to because Brian had already shifted, putting one arm around Jae’s neck and pulling him closer before holding himself above him with his forearm on the other side of Jae’s head before he kissed him on the lips again.

It felt even warmer and fuzzier than before.

Brian didn’t rush it. It felt like he was exploring, brushing his lips against Jae’s, softly, kissing the corner of his mouth and then just his lower lip, suckling gently on it before going for the upper one and doing the same with it. The feeling of Brian’s warm breath against his lips made Jae shiver. Brian clearly wanted it slow and tender and Jae, well, Jae was not against that but he couldn’t help craning his neck up just a little and putting his hand on Brian’s head, brushing his hair with his fingers. He saw Brian’s eyelids flutter shut at the touch. He petted his hair, softly and put his other hand on his shoulder. Brian kissed him again, still closed-mouthed but fully on the lips this time and Jae responded eagerly, before Brian broke the kiss again and Jae felt his smile against his mouth.

“You’re such a tease…” He whispered hoarsely against his lips opening his eyes chuckling softly and feeling Brian chuckle as well and look at him dazedly with dark eyes “Good thing I kept the contacts on… I wish you could see what I see.”

“I see something better, hyung…” Brian mumbled back and he didn’t give Jae the time to counter because he kissed him again and he forgot about it. It was bolder this time and when Jae parted his lips just a little, tentatively, Brian slipped him a bit of tongue and Jae felt his breath falter when his tongue touched his, the almost electric feeling sending ripples of warmth down his spine, intimate, _so_ intimate…

_Fuck._

After a while of that breath-taking contact, Jae shifted a little when his knee brushed against Brian’s leg. It didn’t really hurt but it was tender and the fabric of the pyjamas felt awkward against his skin.

“You alright?” Brian whispered breaking the kiss and looking at Jae in the eyes. Jae groaned a little.

“It’s n…” Brian pecked his lips again “so rude, at least let me fin-“ He chuckled but Brian kissed him again, smiling, his eyes shimmering in the dim light “not complainin-“ another kiss, on the corner of his mouth “you’ll kill me” Jae said and he kissed Brian this time “why did you have to be a good kisser as well!? Isn’t it tiring to be so, so perfect at everything you do?” He complained and Brian grinned before kissing him again and he was really so damn good at it.

(That had been such a fake complaint that even the wall would have slapped him if it had any sense of morality.)

“I’ve never, I’ve never felt so worked up because of just kissing…” Jae mumbled against Brian’s lips when he came back up after going down to his neck and almost killing Jae who had a very sensitive neck.

“Is that good or bad?” Brian whispered with a smile on his reddened, shining lips.

“ _Terrible._ Look at me.” Jae sassed, breathlessly, there was always space for that “Almost _crying_ with how much I hate it.”

Brian chuckled leaning his forehead against his.

“Should I stop?” Brian asked with a cheeky smirk and Jae pressed his forehead harder against his, holding him firmer in his hands and licking his lips.

“You damn tease. I’ll kick your ass.”

Brian smiled and stole another kiss from him. A wet one with a soft smacking sound that flew right to _where it shouldn’t_. Not because he didn’t want it, but because he was hurt and as much as it wasn’t that bad, it would still be a problem. He groaned and Brian looked down at him with a smile.

“I should really stop though because, because…” He licked his lips and swallowed with a guilty smile “uh…we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves when your knees are…”

“I wouldn’t let you get anything but me at peak performance” Jae told him with a smile, craning his neck up to kiss him again. Brian chuckled “I’m a noob though…” He sighed and snorted a bit, looking at him in the eyes “you’re the first guy I’ve ever been with.”

Brian looked almost dazed and he kissed him again. Jae gasped a little.

“I’ll, I’ll make sure to set the bar so high…” he started hoarsely breathing against his lips “that you’ll think that everything else is awful and come back to me.”

Jae’s heart almost stopped because _holy shit_.

_Brian._

“I’m not sure if I should be scared or mad because…” He muttered, squinting a little “are you already assuming I’ll leave you when our, our first kiss was, like, what, one hour ago?”

“I’m just being real, hyung…” He chuckled and Jae sighed, bringing his hand up to Brian’s head and petting his hair.

Brian was literally so, so good. It was amazing how someone who had clearly had his heart broken (judging by some of his lyrics, it seemed to have been more than once) could still be so full of love. Jae wanted to protect this guy at all costs.

“I’ll do my best not to hurt you, babe.” Jae promised pulling his head over and kissing his forehead.

No, he also didn’t believe in forever but he believed that what he felt for Brian wasn’t just a fling (it was literally _so far_ from being a fling that Jae almost laughed at the thought) and he _knew_ he could make _and_ keep that promise.

“I like that promise.” Brian smiled and he pressed his lips against Jae’s again, warm, slow and gentle and unhurried.

(The bar was already so high that Jae was 200% sure that he would come right back if he did happen to fall out with Brian.)

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by e


	12. Coincidences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, there! I am not dead yet and I haven't abandoned this fic (I won't, unless I die lol even though Everyday6 October came out of the blue and killed me tbh I'm posting this from the afterlife /shot)
> 
> I said I wasn't going to take that long to post this chapter but lol this is why I don't like to say that kind of stuff because everything is unpredictable as shit ughhh I've been in a tight spot for the last couple weeks and I didn't get the chance to come edit this chapter. I'm sorry about that, if you've been looking forward for more of this mess /weeps  
> (About this chapter, well, i wasn't gonna say im projecting a bit at times, but im saying it anyway because honesty is important djfhgkg well, tbh, this has been sort of a cathartic fic for me since the beginning anyway, so well, there's that /cries/ im sorry)  
> I'm sure this chapter is still full of mistakes and weird shit, but I tried not to post a half-arsed thing (which would have been what I would have posted if I hadn't tried revising it properly /cries). So, here it is, and I hope you enjoy it despite how lousy it probably is, idk fdhjkhdkf I honestly don't know how to show how thankful i am to the people who've stuck around to read this fic and supported me and this fic all this time. And the silent readers, too. Thank you all so much <3
> 
> So, in this chapter: Sungjin's POV from the events of the earlier chapters and his backstory (in this alternative universe, of course), the usual bad jokes and references, more wholesome friendship moments, more Jaehyungparkian, more Sungjin appreciation and the band finally becoming a thing. I guess that's pretty much it, don't wanna spoil the rest of the thing haha
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter will probably be the last one, I hope that you enjoy this one (which im aware is long as hell lmao it's over 12k #ripinpieces) and that you stick around with me until the end. see you (hopefully) soon!

* * *

 

Sungjin wasn’t really one to believe in fate and that sort of stuff. He didn’t believe that everything that happened in our lives was meant to happen and that there was nothing we could do to prevent things from happening. He believed that everyone made their own destiny, that it was our decisions that influenced our life. Surely, bad things happened at random, but so did good things. It wasn’t fate. It was completely arbitrary. It was luck ( _or lack thereof_ ). There was nobody out there pulling at the strings of our lives like it was a guitar. We were the ones doing that; we played our own guitar, for better or for worse. We couldn’t blame anybody or anything for our own faults and failures.

Sungjin hadn’t put his guitar aside.

Being randomly scouted for a big music company was something that seldom happened and he had never really expected that to happen. He knew very well that if he wanted to get a chance in the music industry, he would have to go after it himself.

The thing was that he didn’t think he was cut out to be an idol and, despite being okay at dancing, that wasn’t what he wanted to do, so becoming part of boy group really wasn’t for him anyway.

His sister had called him a fool for being such a stubborn idiot and not trying to have some company sign a contract with him. Maybe he could become part of an instrument band later on, when he already had enough fame. Sungjin had laughed at that, of course, because firstly, nobody would want him in a regular boy group; secondly, he wasn’t that good at composing so he would either just be doing covers or playing his guitar, so no company would sign a contract with him; and thirdly, he _really_ wanted to have a band. His sister had gotten mad at him after he’d told her all that and told him to stay in Busan, since he wasn’t doing anything in the city anymore, and help the family with the farm. Sungjin had thought about doing that, in all honesty, and he’d shared his intentions to go back home with some of his closest friends. However, when his sister suggested that, his friends’ reactions to that had flooded his mind and he’d decided to stay in the city and try.

Just _try_.

His family hadn’t opposed his decision. His father had even given him his old red van as a _good luck charm_ , in his own words, telling him to make it big in the city and show the city kids what Busan men were made of. Sungjin had been moved by that, but he’d laughed at his calling the van a _good luck charm_ , since it was very old and very worn (he wasn’t even sure if it’d make all the way up to the capital, honestly). His mum had given a very tight hug and worried look, making him promise that he would take good care of himself and eat properly, otherwise she would go over and kick his butt (he knew she would actually do that if things came to that, mind). He had laughed at that too and made a great effort not to burst into tears at the sight of her teary eyes. He would call often, he promised. Every day if he could.

Then, with the promise of showing the city kids what Busan men were made of and with many hugs, he hit the road with ‘ _Good Luck Charm_ ’.

(The name stuck and that was how he called his rusty red van his heart).

The van made it to the capital.

Sungjin had borrowed some money from his parents to get by during the first couple months until he found a job. He found a job rather quickly, at a coffee shop, but he was quick to drop it because he was pretty much losing his mind at having stopped pursuing music.

It wasn’t nice.

He was in a bad place for a while even after having left his job. He didn’t leave his flat for days, barely leaving his bedroom. He turned off his phone and didn’t talk to anybody.

The thought that he’d disappointed everyone that had believed in him and praised his skills was overwhelming. He could barely breathe. He wanted to vanish into thin air for being such a failure. He’d disappointed everyone. Big time. He’d betrayed himself and his dreams.

However, he could still make it right, and eventually, anger took over and he snapped out of it. That wasn’t what his father had told him to do. He had to show the city kids what Busan men were made of. He couldn’t let the city overwhelm him. He’d strayed from his own beliefs.

Nobody would come and save him; he would have to go out there and save himself. He had to go out there and fight for his dreams.

It wasn’t easy to get back on track, of course. When he turned his phone on again, he literally had over a hundred calls from his mum and sister along with some very angry and worried texts. He lied and told them that he’d broken his phone and hadn’t had the time to get it fixed. He just didn’t want to worry them. He’d very openly cried after he’d listened to his mum crying on the phone, scolding him sternly and making him promise to never do that again and that he could always tell her anything that was bothering him (and that he was very lucky because the next day she was planning on getting on a train to go find him and kick his butt. So it was really and, quite literally, a close call.)

He was completely sure that she knew that he was lying about breaking his phone (she always knew when he was lying, it was insane) but he just didn’t want to worry her even more. He’d find a way to get out of _that place_ on his own.

He’d lost contact with his friends also and they didn’t know what he was up to or where he was so it wasn’t like they would come looking for him, not knowing where he was and not having his new number or anything to go by but an Instagram profile he hadn’t updated in _months_.

He would try to connect with everyone when he didn’t feel as ashamed. He made that promise to himself.

So, after that particularly low moment, which lasted for more than he would like to admit, (and if he was being honest, still lingered) he placed some ads on the internet offering to do all sorts of odd jobs and started busking. Surprisingly enough, people liked to listen to his street performances and that alone was enough to boost his gloomy mood.

It was a magical feeling to be appreciated for something that makes you happy like nothing else.

Even the odd jobs thing went better than he’d expected. He’d gotten several calls and even more after doing the actual jobs because his customers recommended his services to their family and friends. It was interesting to observe, though, that the vast majority of his customers were women in their thirties. When he told that to his mum and sister they’d had a blast.

(“ _Well_ ” his mum had said, her grin clear in her voice “ _you’re very handsome, honey, so I don’t know what’s so surprising about that._ ”

His sister had agreed, and they wouldn’t hear any of his protests. His mum said that the butt-kicking he deserved wasn’t out of the question yet, so he decided not to argue any further.)

Well, he’d had a bumpy start, but he’d somehow managed to get a somewhat steady income that allowed him to make ends meet and he considered himself a lucky man.

 _Still_ , he didn’t believe in fate.

He believed that if he’d managed to get out of the pits, it had been because he’d gathered enough strength to do so and had humbly sat through a solid hour of his mum scolding him over the phone, saying nothing more than ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I will not do it again, mum. I love you, please forgive me’ in response.

If there was someone out there looking out for him, it was his family. Especially his mum. She was his guardian angel and he wanted nothing more than to make her proud. To make _all of them_ proud.

 _So_ , when on that eventful Tuesday he’d realised that he didn’t have his wallet on him at all and, not only didn’t have money to pay for his dinner, but had also drove around all day without his documents, he’d mentally asked his mum for forgiveness for having accidentally become a criminal.

There was nothing to be done though. He was already eating, and he couldn’t just say that he didn’t have the money to pay for his meal, so he had to commit yet another crime and run out of the restaurant without paying. The problem was how to do that. He didn’t know how he should go about it. All his muscles were tense despite how calm he seemed to be.

He ate calmly (or as calmly as you can eat when you’re literally about to cry out of shame because you are _a disgrace_ to your father’s name), being ultra-aware of his surroundings, and tried to think of a way to get out of that situation. Literally _get out_ of there.

That’s when he saw the two tall boys enter the restaurant, one of them grinning from ear to ear and the other looking like he was lost between smiling and dying. They took the table beside Sungjin’s, which was one of the few that wasn’t taken. They didn’t speak much to each other, Sungjin noticed. They ordered their food and ate quietly. Sungjin noticed the black-haired boy occasionally winking at the blonde boy and saw the latter’s cheeks blush visibly despite his small, somewhat anxious smiles.

That was by no means a restaurant where you would bring your significant other unless you’d been dating for ages, but somehow it occurred to Sungjin that they were a couple, which would explain their restraint in public and the amount of chemistry between them. That didn’t bother Sungjin at all, in fact, it was but a fleeting thought, considering that he had more pressing things to worry about at that moment. _Like the criminal life he had accidentally fallen into._

Sungjin took his sweet time finishing his meal because he still had no idea how he would run out of the restaurant without paying. Luckily, he finished eating at about the same time as the two boys and in his anxious alertness, he noticed them finally talk to each other, however, he couldn’t understand a word because they were whispering in English. It was at once exasperating and stressing. He saw the black-haired boy hold the blonde’s hands in his and look him in the eyes. That kind of solidified Sungjin’s assumption that they were lovers but then he noticed the black-haired boy gesturing towards the door with his head and another thought, one that made his heart skip an anticipating beat, made him become even more aware – _they were also going to leave without paying._

And basically, he took that shot and he was right.

Sungjin could hardly believe what he’d done, what _they’d all_ done, and it was such a coincidence that those two boys were taking the same degree he’d taken and were even living in the same dorm he’d lived until the previous year that Sungjin couldn’t help feeling genuinely surprised at the workings of _arbitrariness._

And really, it wasn’t that Sungjin suddenly started believing in fate that night or anything like that, he just had a gut feeling, something he couldn’t quite explain, that led him to share with them his dream of being part of a band.

It wasn’t fate; it was _chance._

He immediately felt like they genuinely considered his idea and took it to heart, which could only mean one of two things – either they also wanted that or were kind of crazy. Maybe it was a bit of both.

(He was quite sure they were kind of crazy. Especially Younghyun, who’d dashed after a moving van in the worst kind of shoes you can wear to run.

 _Still._ )

 

When they met again, at the centre while Sungjin was busking, he was sure that he wasn’t wrong about them wanting to try playing together.

Sungjin didn’t know how to properly describe his feelings while playing with them, honestly.

It was impromptu, of course, and they’d made many mistakes, but it’d been a lot of fun and in the end, it’d worked a lot better than anybody could have expected. The connection he’d felt to those boys wasn’t something he could put in simple words. It made his heart pound and made him dizzy with joy. He couldn’t stop smiling and he felt a bit numb. He felt like his dream of being part of a band was closer than it’d ever been, and he couldn’t resist the urge to try and give it a go, hoping that he wasn’t the only crazy idiot wanting to try something so crazy out of the damn blue.

So, he tried it and surprisingly (or maybe not really) they’d all been as excited about the whole band thing as he felt. It would be the craziest shit he’d ever pulled in his life, forming a band that was due to perform in a contest in less than two days, but he’d been eyeing that ad for weeks and he just wanted to try it, even though it was a very long shot.

Just _try_.

* * *

 

 

On that Friday before the gig, after the whole van incident by the river, Sungjin remembered that he hadn’t signed the band up for the contest and almost had a heart attack because the applications would end that day.

“I’m _a dumbass_.” He muttered to himself as he drove to the place where the contest would happen. It wasn’t really a bar, as Sungjin had thought at first (he hadn’t actually been to the place, mind) and it also not a club or something like that.

The main feature of that place was the stage at the very bottom of the room, which was the first thing one noticed upon entering. It was lit by led lights that pointed towards it and one could see several instruments there through the gap between the carelessly closed dark blue curtains. There seemed to be nobody on the stage at the time Sungjin entered the place. Maybe it was just the fact that he was very tired, but Sungjin’s mind went blank as he processed what he was seeing.

He was having a tough time calling that a restaurant as well, even though there was a menu on the wall, because that barely looked like a restaurant. It wasn’t a small place, mind, the room was wide and spacious. It was quite warm inside and Sungjin noticed that the warmth irradiated from two pellet stoves, one on each side of the room. The room was dimly lit by both the orange light from the dark pellet stoves and floor lamps near the walls with old lamp shades that, despite being all of different colours, seemed to be arranged according to hues ranging from beige to brown. There were several small, round, wooden tables that seemed to be quite old and had some four equally old chairs surrounding them. On each table along with napkins and a basket full of flowers there were electric candles that emitted a soft, pinkish light.

It felt like the kind of place where you’d come to hear poetry or something and not somewhere where a rock band would be playing but, well, Sungjin wasn’t backing down now. He had already said that the crazy band thing would happen and it _damn well_ would happen.

He walked confidently to the counter and asked the boy behind it for the owner or the person responsible for the contest because he wanted to apply. The boy promptly did as he was told and Sungjin waited patiently.

He almost yelped when he saw the person he returned with.

It was a woman who didn’t look much older than his mum. She was a rather tall woman, with thick eyebrows and some wrinkles on her forehead and the corners of her eyes. Her wavy black hair framed her face, looking like she’d just unplaited it and hadn’t bothered combing it. There was a deep furrow between her eyebrows. Sungjin felt the urge to apologise when they made eye-contact instead of introducing himself like he should but he didn’t do that ( _thankfully_ ).

She looked up at him in silence with a furrow between her brows before something akin to recognition flashed her eyes and she nodded before gesturing him that he should follow her. He promptly bowed and did so without saying anything.

He followed her into the back of the place through some narrow and equally dimly lit corridors and then down a flight of stairs that led to what seemed to be a basement and a storage area. Then she opened the door to a small office and walked in silently.

Sungjin felt rather anxious at the lack of words but it turned out that there was no problem at all.

The owner, whose name was Baek Hei-Ran, didn’t seem to be upset that he’d waited for the last minute to apply, saying that it was a clever move because the last band to perform is usually the one that leaves the most lasting impression in the audience.

(Yeah, _sure,_ it had been on purpose, of course. Sungjin knew that. Yeah. _Carefully planned moves_.)

“Right, son, just fill out this form for me.” She said from behind the dirty desk of her tiny office. The office had a tiny window behind her back near the ceiling and the yellow glow of the street lamps filled the space, shedding an eerie light over the dusty shelves. The only light in the office came from an extremely out of place art nouveau lamp on the desk that added some green to the yellow light that came from the outside.

Sungjin was sitting on a worn chair on the other side of the desk, the fear of falling off it or breaking it making up for how nervous he felt at applying for the contest “There you go.” She slid the form over the dirty desk along with a blue pen that seemed to be a freebie from some ice cream company. Sungjin cautiously dragged the chair closer to the desk and picked up the pen, pulling the form towards him. His heart dropped into his stomach when he noticed a _tiny_ problem – _they only allowed two guitars._

“Only two guitars?” He asked, unable to hold back the question, looking up at Baek Hei-Ran who was pulling out a cigarette and looked at him a bit surprised.

“Yeah.” She confirmed raising an eyebrow “Why?”

“Uh…” Sungjin panicked a little because she sounded as stern as she looked “nothing. It’s just… couldn’t it be three?” The woman snorted and coughed a little, licking her lips and smiling. Sungjin breathed a little at the reaction.

“Look, I don’t want more guitars than people on stage, you feel?” She told him patiently, reaching for the ashtray. The sleeve of her black turtleneck rode up a bit an exposed her wrist. Sungjin couldn’t help noticing a shiny burn mark on it. “I know that bands like, I don’t know, Iron Maiden, almost have more guitars than members but” she clicked her tongue as she popped the cigarette into her mouth and grabbed a box of matches from a drawer, striking it and lighting the cigarette “I have a thing where I tend to” she pursed her lips after taking a puff of the cigarette and held the smoke in for a bit “be prejudiced when a band has too many guitarists.” She blew the smoke and pulled down the sleeves of her turtleneck to cover the mark. It didn’t matter what it was, it was just there. Sungjin hadn’t given it a second thought, in all honesty. He breathed heavily before smiling awkwardly and nodding.

Well, _shit_.

What the hell would he do? He felt dizzy and tingly. He knew that Wonpil played the keyboard and Dowoon played the drums and he also knew that Younghyun and Jaehyung played the guitar as he did himself. It hit him that someone had to play bass. Jaehyung didn’t strike him as a bassist and he sure wouldn’t be playing the bass because he was mediocre _at best_ playing it.

“Right, makes sense.” He simply said and made up his mind.

He wrote everyone’s names and what they did. Praying for the best, he gambled a little more on this reckless band formation thing and just signed Younghyun as the bassist, going even further and giving him a snazzy stage name based on his Instagram user, _Young K_ , and just wrote Jae for, well _, Jae_ , since he’d told him right away that that’s what he liked to be called.

And fuck it, whatever happened, happened. He confidently slid the paper towards the smoking woman and she thanked him before taking a look at it and nodding as she skimmed it.

“Ah” she exclaimed pointing at the top when she noticed a crucial detail and snorting “you forgot to write down the band name here.” She pointed and turned the paper to Sungjin who looked at her mortified.

_Shit._

The band name. _The bloody band name._

How the fuck could he have forgotten about that as well?

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

( _Play it cool, Park Sungjin. You can do this_.)

“Oh, uh…” he widened his dry eyes and smiled a little “I’m sorry. I must look so unprofessional.” The smile on his face became a little more honest because it was hilarious since that shit he was pulling with the other boys was the furthest thing from _professional_ he could think of “I’ll, I’ll write it right now. I’m just a bit tired, I’m sorry.”

“He sure look tired, son. Don’t sweat it.” Baek Hei-Ran told with a dismissive wave of her hand, smiling gently and pausing a little studying him with her eyes “I’ve seen you play at the centre, you know?” She randomly told him and he looked up at her, the tip of the pen hanging over the blank space where he should write the band name. He mentally thanked her for giving him some extra time to think about a damn name. He felt sweat forming at the back of his neck.

“Really?” He asked meekly with a smile and she nodded.

“Yes, that’s why I’m being so cool about this and even brought you down here. I’m usually not this friendly, you know?” She grinned, pressing the butt of the cigarette on the ashtray and leaning back with a sigh “You’re something else, Park Sungjin.” She told him and that eased some of his tension, despite his embarrassment “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such heart in a singer.” She told him looking at him with a soft smile. Sungjin felt a rush on embarrassment at the compliment. “I won’t be biased in my judgement on Sunday” she declared sternly and he nodded vehemently. He would want nothing else. She smiled and snorted, shaking her head “but I will tell you this, since I feel like it won’t get to your head” she said grabbing another cigarette “at first I was going to go for a soloist contest” she said and Sungjin blinked “but last time I did that” she sighed as she lit the cigarette as she’d done the previous one “it was a _bloody disaster_ ” she winced a little and Sungjin remained politely silent “a bunch of _douchey_ kids turned up and, God, it was awful.” She shook her head and paused, taking a puff of the cigarette and looking at the boy in front of her who was still politely silent, holding the pen “But when I saw you down there playing I… I thought _‘Ah_ , I would like this kid to play at my _café_ ’” she paused again and smiled at Sungjin who definitely looked as embarrassed as he felt “but well, it would be weird for a weird middle-aged woman to walk up to a kid and tell him to come play at her café, wouldn’t it?” She grinned and Sungjin felt himself blush harder as he smiled bashfully and snorted a little “Yeah, and I didn’t even have a card or anything, so I didn’t do that, but I still wanted to hold that sort of event here because I enjoy watching unknown artists perform” she shrugged “with high chances of not having you here, of course” she paused again, smoking pensively before snorting and shaking her head “Like I said, I know this won’t get to your head, I can see that” she gestured towards his flushed face with her chin and smiled “I guess what I want to say is that it’s a pleasant coincidence that you turned up anyway.” Another pause “It doesn’t feel like a coincidence though.” She smiled kindly and the wrinkles on the corners of her eyes suddenly made sense “It feels like _fate_.”

She fell silent looking at Sungjin who smiled coyly and shrugged a little.

“It’s a, it’s an honour to know that… I don’t know what to say… thank you.” He mumbled hoarsely and cleared his throat “it really is, I will certainly not let that get to my head, Baek Hei-Ran-ssi.” He chuckled and the owner scrunched her nose and shook her head.

“Call me noona.” She told him and he started a little. She noticed and laughed heartily “You’re cute, but I’m not hitting on you, love, don’t worry.” She grinned and pressed the second cigarette butt on the ashtray before sighing “I’m just starting to feel old, now that I’m starting to look it.” She confessed and Sungjin chuckled a little. She was so honest. His first impression of her was changing quickly.

“Hei-Ran-noona then, I apologise.” He bowed his head a little “You don’t look much older than 30 though” he said kindly with flushed cheeks, smiling “I just didn’t want to sound too familiar…”

“Aw, you’re really a sweetheart, aren’t you?” She chuckled and shook her head “Go on, just write down the name of your band so that you can go home and sleep, love.” She said and Sungjin nodded after looking around. He was out of ideas for a good band name. His mind was as blank as the space he was supposed to fill with the name.

 _‘The Windows’_ (Surely, Bill Gates.)

 _‘The Floors’_ (Sounded like a crappy knock-off of The Doors.)

 _‘The Cigs’_ (Sounded like some underground noir band and that wasn’t the concept they were going for as far as he knew.)

He was getting a bit stressed again and it would be sad _, to say the least_ , if he couldn’t come up with a name for the band (that was _definitely not_ something that had been whimsically rushed into existence the previous day) after the amount of praise he’d just received from the owner of that _café_ (as she’d called it. Sungjin would roll with it. Her words were law). She was already feeling that there was something off for sure and he wanted to bang his head on the mucky desk for it.

That’s when his eyes fell on an old calendar on the desk, one of those that only reads the day you’re in. It was in English and it read,

**Day**

**6**

**October**

He didn’t even hesitate when the inspiration struck. He wrote it down in big capital letters and ran the tip of the pen over the name twice to make it pop and give it a strength it didn’t yet have.

“DAY6?” Hei-Ran looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and a little smirk, glancing at her calendar before snorting understandingly “Did you just come up with it?”

Sungjin decided not to lie about that but he would lie _a little_ anyway to save face.

“Well…” He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck with his clammy palm “Yes…we kind of, we kind of didn’t have name, we were just playing for fun and never really thought about that…”

Hei-Ran hummed pensively, clearly having accepted his excuse, before nodding and smiling at him.

“It has a nice ring to it, though” She said “ _DAY6_ ” she repeated and nodded again “I like it. I think you should stick with it.” She grinned “They say the best ideas come randomly, don’t they?”

Sungjin almost heaved a relieved sigh at the approval but instead he just chuckled. He’d never heard that but it made sense to him (it _had to_ make sense _, honestly_ ) so he nodded.

“That’s right, I agree.” He said and she nodded once again, before clapping her hands and placing the form inside one of her drawers.

“ _Righ_ t” she said, standing up and grinning at the boy who was quick (and _thankful_ ) to get his butt off that precarious chair “I don’t want to be biased” she said, almost to make a point, patting his back “but I’m gonna get you something to eat. Then you can go home and sleep.”

Sungjin felt like hugging her because he didn’t feel like cooking at all, but he held himself back and just nodded.

“Thank you, noona, I will accept that graciously!” He declared, and she chortled “And hopefully you won’t regret being so kind to me today…” he mumbled with a snort and she scoffed, patting his back again, stronger this time.

“Don’t be silly, Sungjin-ah.” She scolded, frowning a little “Come along before I change my damn mind!” She grunted and he smiled awkwardly, mumbling an apology “Honestly, I just told you I decided to hold this contest because you inspired me to it, how could I regret it?” She complained shaking her head as they walked over to what seemed to be a kitchen. Sungjin didn’t really know how he should feel about that. He was just following her with careless trust. “I don’t remember Busan men being so annoyingly humble.”

Sungjin blinked and looked over at his benefactor with a surprised look.

“How do you know I’m from Busan?”

“That’s a stupid question, Sungjin-ah.” She chortled and led him into the kitchen. There were people working there, and it smelled nice. The cooks and the rest of the staff greeted their boss and nodded in Sungjin’s general direction acknowledging his presence “It’s obviously not because you look like you’re from Busan. What would that even mean?” She shook her head and gestured him to sit down on a chair in front of a small grubby table and sat with him before turning back “Noriko-ah” she called and one of the waitresses walked over “you look lovely today as usual, sweetheart.” She smiled up at the girl who grinned back “Sungjin-ah, you got any allergies?” Sungjin shook his head in silence and she nodded “Anything you really hate?” He shook his head again “Perfect. Just get us today’s special, then. Bring some juice also, since this boy is driving.” She smiled at Sungjin and the waitress chuckled “Thank you, love.”

“Right away, Hei-Ran-noona!” The girl winked and smiled at then before going back to get what her boss had asked. Sungjin was silent and his mind was blank but he the thought that this _noona_ was _definitely_ not as mean as she looked or made herself sound at first sight.

“What was I saying?” Hei-Ran clicked her tongue and shook her head when she focused on Sungjin again and he stared blankly at her having forgotten as well “Ah” she smiled “the way you speak. That’s how I know where you’re from.” She pointed at him and winked.

“Oh” Sungjin smiled and rubbed his face a little “I’m sorry, when I’m tired it just, I can’t really tone it down...” He chuckled and she waved her hand with a smile.

“I’m actually from Busan myself.” She grinned and he blinked in surprise “Yeah, I know I don’t have an accent, I’ve lived in this damn city for over twenty years.” She sighed and Sungjin hummed “Yeah, it kind of goes away, doesn’t it?” She chuckled and shook her head “It’ll be hard for me to be unbiased on Sunday.” She smiled fondly and shook her head “It’s been so long since I’ve got to listen to proper Busan dialect.” Sungjin was going to feel bad about the dialect but he realised on time that it was stupid since Hei-Ran clearly had no problem understanding it.

When Noriko (the waitress) came back with the food Sungjin almost cried when he saw the delicious-looking Bibimbap with an extra side of rice and Japchae. It had been so long since he’d eaten something like that.

“Thank you so much for the food!” Sungjin legitimately felt his eyes welling up “I’ll eat well!”

“I hope so.” Hei-Ran-noona chuckled “Whereabouts are you from in Busan?” She asked conversationally and Sungjin was happy to tell her. He almost choked when he realised that they would have been practically neighbours.

The meal talk was pleasant and easy because they talked mostly about their hometown and Sungjin mostly had to answer to questions on whether or not something was still as she remembered, since she’d apparently not been to Busan in the same twenty years she’d been living in the capital (Sungjin didn’t pry, obviously). Then she asked him briefly about his major before going back to talking about the South of South Korea, because it was clear as daylight that she missed it dearly. Sungjin was happy to notice her accent revert back to Busan’s and the dialect words creep steadily into it. She started asking about certain people to check if they were still alive and Sungjin was positively shocked to find out that she’d known his mum personally even though they weren’t exactly close. They’d gone to school together. He was almost scared to tell her that but ended up doing it because he just couldn’t hold it in. It was clearly not a bad decision because Hei-Ran smiled from ear to ear and Sungjin saw her eyes become glossy, but he tried to change the subject back to something less emotional, otherwise he would probably start crying as well and it would be a mess.

Sungjin felt like he’d made a friend and when he was finally done with his meal, they even exchanged phone numbers.

Well, he still didn’t want to believe that fate was a thing, but it was starting to get a bit hard to do that. The coincidences were just too many for it to be _all_ at random. He’d even gotten in touch with Yerin after so long because the boys he’d randomly met the night he’d become an accidental criminal knew her as well.

Maybe there was actually something else out there, who knew?

* * *

 

Sungjin had to wake up early the next Saturday morning. He almost didn’t wake up with his alarm and realised that he was already running late when he got up. He’d slept like a log, tired as he was, well-fed and lulled by the rain hitting the windows of his tiny flat (it was a shame he couldn’t sleep in). He just hoped that _Good Luck Charm_ wouldn’t fail him, since it wasn’t possible to get it fixed before the following week even if he visited a mechanics store that day.

It didn’t. Good Luck Charm started right away and, despite the weather, his morning of work went well. He just had to assemble some cupboards and chairs but the place was quite far and he had to be there at around 9am, the time he’d settled with the customer. The guy who’d hired him to do that just slept on the couch the entire time while Sungjin assembled his furniture.

(That was either a case of excessive trust or extreme tiredness and Sungjin respected it regardless.)

And after getting lunch on the way back, he texted Younghyun that he would turn up soon (it was almost 3pm) and drove the familiar roads over to the Hall of Residence where he’d lived until the previous year.

He was going to honk to call them over when he looked at the passenger’s seat and realised that he was complete and utter dumbass.

 _How on Earth would he fit five men in there!?_ He wouldn’t have them drive at the back and get drenched!

“Fucking moron.” He groaned with a wince, squeezing his eyes shut and huffing before he grabbed his umbrella (that he’d been at least smart enough to bring along) and got out of the van, locking the doors. He walked over to the main door and the idiot episode wasn’t over yet because he caught himself rummaging around for his student card before he realised that he wasn’t a student anymore and he didn’t even live there “Snap out of it, Park Sungjin!” He scolded himself with a huff before he got his phone out of his pocket and called Younghyun again “Hello? It’s Park Sungjin. I’m sorry. I’m at the door, please come open it.”

The door clicked open not a minute later and he was met with six smiling faces that warmly invited and practically dragged him out of the rain and into the familiar warmth of the entrance hall. His displeasure and annoyance vanished, and he felt his cheeks hurt a little from smiling so much. Their happiness and merry chatter caused such an impression on him that he felt like being mad over something like that was uncalled for and pointless. He felt so warm and welcomed that he couldn’t help but smile from his heart.

“…he’s not listening.” Jae said with a chortle, patting his back and making him jolt a little in surprise “There we go. Hello again, Park Sungjin-ssi. Nice to see you, how are you doing?” He grinned and everyone chuckled.

“Sorry, I was just” Sungjin chortled and rubbed the back of his neck “I was just kind of distracted because, uh…” he sighed and shook his head “we can’t fit in the van and it’s raining.”

“That’s what we were talking about.” Yerin chuckled and Jimin grinned as the other boys laughed “I was saying that we can take my car too.” She said and Sungjin blinked “It’ll be no problem since Jimin-ah and I are going to the centre.” Jimin grinned and Sungjin opened his mouth looking down at the girls as if he’d never seen anybody as blessed as them.

“Really?”

“Yeah, no problem at all!” Yerin beamed and Sungjin saw the boys smiling as well and he was so overwhelmed by the amount of affection that he honest to God had to cough and rub at his eyes, chuckling awkwardly.

“That’s really, yeah, well” he breathed and smiled at them who were looked up at him expectantly “thank you, Yerin-ah.” He bowed his head and she sighed “I’m sorry we lost contact for so long...” he said looking at her with a mild smile that made her shake her head.

“That’s alright, Sungjin-oppa” she smiled back at him and her eyes were welling up which didn’t help Sungjin’s situation at all “I’m just, I’m just glad I can do something for you...” she looked around at the other boys “for all of you. I really want to see this happening!”

Wonpil chuckled and looked at the other boys.

“Well... it probably won’t be perfect...” He said with a shrug “since we won’t have much time to practice.”

“It’ll be fine!” Dowoon exclaimed and everyone laughed “No, really. I had a dream where, where we were all flying and, and I don’t know, this is dumb” he chuckled, suddenly blushing “but I feel like it means that something good will happen.”

“I am taking that.” Jae promptly declared, doing finger guns at Dowoon “Dowoonie is now officially our psychic. _Nostradowoonie._ ” He looked around to see if anyone had gotten his joke and it seemed like nobody except Younghyun had, because he was the only one laughing. It didn’t really surprise Sungjin, since he was quite certain that they were boyfriends.

“Don’t mind them, oppa.” Jimin told him rolling her eyes “They’re both nerds.” Sungjin chuckled and shook his head.

“We should get moving.” Younghyun declared checking his wristwatch “We have no time to waste. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Sungjin nodded and they left the hall soon after. The rain had mostly stopped by then and the clouds were giving way to the blue of the sky and the sunlight.

* * *

 

Jae offered to ride the van with Sungjin and Yerin promised to drive patiently behind them so that they wouldn’t lose each other, in case the van decided to act up again and they needed Brian’s mechanics’ skills again.

Jae didn’t want to force Sungjin to tell him anything he didn’t want to tell him, especially considering that they’d literally met less than a week ago, but he wanted to try to reach out to him because he felt like Sungjin needed that. Hopefully the cultural differences wouldn’t get in the way. He would take the shot.

Sungjin’s radio was playing some seriously tacky trot songs and Jae grimaced at it before glancing at the driver who snorted and shook his head.

“Don’t touch it.” He told him “That’s the only station that works and the controllers are busted. Appreciate the quality music.” He said sternly and Jae snorted. Sungjin proceeded to sing along to the song currently playing. The clash between Sungjin’s voice and the trot style was something else. Jae couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“I bet you’re the soul of Karaoke parties.” Jae chortled heartily and Sungjin stopped singing to laugh before shrugging and shifting the gear. The lever really was dodgy. Jae didn’t like the sound it made at all.

“I haven’t been to the Karaoke in ages.” Sungjin chuckled before he noticed Jae’s look “Don’t worry, it’s just a bit loose.” He assured and Jae eyed him suspiciously “You fancy people with your automatic gear shifts.” Sungjin scorned playfully, shaking his head “I’ll get it checked as well when I take care of the battery problem.” He sighed before he proceeded to sing along to the song.

Jae wanted to turn on the recorder on his phone to keep the beautiful thing that was Park Sungjin singing trot songs forever and he did just that. Sungjin noticed but he didn’t seem to mind which surprised Jae a little. He even put more heart into his singing.

“You truly have trot skills, Sungjin-ssi!” Jae cackled when he stopped recording and Sungjin laughed.

“I know I don’t, it’s just fun to sing and I’ve listened to these songs so many times that they just” he stopped talking to change the gear again and turn at a crossroads and check if Yerin and the rest of the squad was still behind them “what was I saying?”

“You’ve listened to these songs so many times.” Jae helped and Sungjin nodded.

“Yeah, they’re really catchy and after listening to them a couple time you learn the lyrics.”

“At least you entertain your passengers.” Jae stated casually with a little chuckle. Well, yes, he was trying to get Sungjin to open up to him by making random offhand comments with great chances of it being useless. It wasn’t.

“Ah” Sungjin chuckled “it’s been a while since I’ve got passengers... I mean, aside from you guys and the girls” he confessed, somewhat stiffly and Jae felt that if he did that probably he could get this guy to talk. Sometimes it’s best to talk to an almost stranger than to talk to someone you’ve known for a long time. Jae knew that from experience.

“Well, with all due respect” Jae grinned “it takes some guts to get into this old baby, no matter how much of a good driver you are.” Sungjin squinted and glanced at him with pursed lips.

“You want to get hit, don’t you?” He asked and patted the dashboard “Don’t listen to him, Good Luck Charm, he’s a fool.”

Jae cackled and looked at Sungjin.

“Is that the van’s name!?”

“It is.” Sungjin glared at him, half-heartedly “Respect your elders. She’s been around for longer than you have!” He defended, and Jae chortled, shaking his head.

“You sound like my dad when he wants to act like an old man.”

“Yah” Sungjin snorted “this van was actually a gift from _my_ dad.” He said and Jae hummed.

“I see...” He said thoughtfully “you talk to your family a lot?” he asked casually and Sungjin nodded.

“Every day.” He smiled “I call my mum every day and usually my dad’s with her.” Jae hummed “Yeah, and I text my sister a lot, too.”

“I have a group chat with my family.” Jae chuckled and Sungjin snorted, shaking his head.

“That would be ideal” he offered “but my dad hates texting and my mum says she’d rather listen to my voice.”

“Aw, that’s cute.” Jae smiled and Sungjin nodded, smiling fondly and he fell silent. Jae really didn’t want to pry but if there was something he’d learnt from Brian, it was that being straightforward about things was generally a good idea “I don’t want to make you tell me anything you don’t want to, but I’m just gonna go ahead and share things with you, bro.” He declared and Sungjin glanced at him in silence. Jae took it as a sign that he could do it “Yeah, well, I took a whole different degree before this one and it was awful.” He scoffed with a sigh looking up at the now clearer sky “I mean, it could have been worse” he clarified “I got the degree and shit, but I was working and studying at the same time, like, uh” he sighed and chuckled “that’s something you can do when you’re doing something you really like, right?” Sungjin nodded and chuckled. Jae gestured with his hands, feeling emboldened by the approval “But I wasn’t doing something I really liked. I’ve always wanted music but...” he sighed and shook his head “I was afraid of my family’s reaction when I told them I wanted to turn my hobby into a profession so” he shrugged “I pushed myself through four years of that bullshit” he chuckled “and I was just... it was _damaging_.” He snorted “I kind of...” he hesitated but then he went for it “I kind of went into a tight spot after I finished my degree and... well, let’s just say that my friends were still there but I felt like the king of assholes.” He sighed and finally shut up. That was a solid summary of what had happened, in his opinion. Sungjin remained silent for a moment before he sighed too.

“Well...” he started, clearing his throat and chuckling “I did take the degree I wanted but... afterwards I just... I strayed a bit from my path... and it’s still kind of embarrassing to get back in touch with” he clicked his tongue and huffed “with everyone, because I don’t...” he hesitated, and Jae just knew what he was going to say “I feel like I don’t deserve to have them back...”

Jae had been right about his hunch about Sungjin, unfortunately. He sighed and chuckled half-heartily.

“That’s what one feels, isn’t it?” Jae smiled at him and sighed “But that’s not true, you know? It’s not really, it’s not like we choose to do that... I’m gonna sound like a typical therapist here and I’m sure you know this already” he chuckled and Sungjin chuckled too “but you must forgive yourself and try to make things right.”

Sungjin sighed and bit his lower lip before looking to the side for a second and chuckling. He glanced at Jae.

“I wouldn’t have expected a guy that acts like a fool most of the time to be so mature about, about this kind of stuff.” He smiled and Jae put his usual air back on and winked at him.

“I’m actually a very wise man, you know?” He said playfully pulling a fake grave look that made Sungjin laugh “Ah, I found out that I’m older than you!” He remembered, masterfully changing the subject back to something less loaded now that they’d gotten that out of the way. There was absolutely no need to take the subject any further.

“You’re older than me?” Sungjin asked in disbelief and Jae nodded gravely “No way!”

“I am indeed.” He confirmed “I was born in ’92.” Sungjin seemed to still not believe him “Want me to get you my ID?” Sungjin snorted and shook his head.

“No, I believe you.” He said “But I’m from January, so you’re not older enough to be my _hyung_.” He grinned and Jae nodded “The others are younger though, aren’t they?”

“Yes.” Jae confirmed “Dowoonie is from ’95 and Wonpilie is from ’94. Brian is from the same year as you, but from December.” He told him.

“I see.” Sungjin hummed “Does he call you hyung?” Jae blinked and chuckled, shrugging a little.

“He does.” He confirmed finding the question a bit odd “When we’re speaking in Korean. English doesn’t have honorifics aside from Mr, Ms and stuff like that.” Jae added with a chuckle “It would be hilarious if he started calling me Mr Jae.” It sounded funnier after he actually said it and he lost it. He would have to tell him that later.

“Ah, I just remembered something…” Sungjin started and from his tone it was something awkward. Jae looked at him after he stopped laughing at ‘ _Mr Jae_ ’ “and this may be a big problem…”

“Oh man… what’s wrong?” Jae asked cautiously when he saw Sungjin sigh as they stopped at a red light.

“Well… so, like, they wouldn’t accept more than two guitars in the band because, because the place’s owner doesn’t like it…” Sungjin started and chuckled. Jae winced “Yeah, and… I can’t play the bass and I kind of…” he paused and groaned “I did that yesterday because I forgot to do it on Thursday… I kind of panicked and gambled a bit more…”

“Oh my God…” Jae covered his mouth fearing the worst. He was okay with the bass, but he was by no means good enough to play it for real, since he’d never actually had lessons.

“I picked Younghyun as our bassist.” Sungjin mumbled and he sounded anxious.

Jae almost heard the angels sing and the flowers swirl up into the sky in a beautiful pink breeze of pure joy.

“Thank God!” He cried, bringing his hands together in prayer “Thank God and Jesus!”

Sungjin looked expectantly at him and Jae nodded emotionally.

“Younghyun can play the bass! He has bass tutoring and all, bro!” He said almost crying and Sungjin looked like he had just seen Jesus Himself as well “That was the right pick, fuck, I could cry right now!”

Sungjin looked like he was having an out of body experience and almost didn’t notice that the light had turned green. Yerin honked behind him and he jolted before revving away.

“I can’t, I can’t believe it” Sungjin mumbled and Jae had honest to God started praying to the Holy Father and the Holy Mother and all angels in Heaven because that could have gone so, so wrong. Sungjin suddenly snorted and Jae looked at him “I gave him a weird nickname, too.”

Jae blinked.

“I called him Young K, wrote it in Roman letters and all.” Sungjin cackled and Jae widened his eyes “I hope he doesn’t mind… and that he doesn’t mind the bass, also.” He sighed.

“That’s the name he uses on LINE.” Jae told him and Sungjin widened his eyes as well, glancing briefly at him “Where did you get it from?”

“His Instagram user.”

“Ah, fair enough…” Jae nodded but it was still too incredible “This is some crazy stuff though…”

“Tell me about it…” Sungjin snorted and they had arrived at school.

That had been one hell of a van ride.

* * *

 

 

The school was open on Saturdays and it was probably for people who had special studying schedules but like Dowoon had said, it was pretty much empty.

When they told Brian that he had been signed up as Young K, the bassist, he looked a bit surprised, but he didn’t seem to be against it. He even smiled a little and said it was perfectly fine, since he could play the bass and had proper tutoring and all. He also seemed to like the snazzy stage name a lot.

Sungjin was pleased to hear it but Jae was a little uncertain. Brian’s reaction hadn’t been particularly enthusiastic and, _shit_ , was he just worried because he was whipped as heck or _what_?

Sungjin looked legitimately emotional after they walked past the doors and Jae patted his back.

“It’s fine to cry, Sungjin-ssi. This school misses you too.”

Sungjin snorted and shook his head.

“I wasn’t going to cry, it’s just…” He looked round “It’s weird to be back after so long… should we take the main practice room? It’s the one with the most instruments.”

“Great idea.” Jae said nodding “We’re _not_ taking room 12.”

Brian cackled, and Jae grinned cheekily at him.

“What’s wrong with room 12?” Wonpil asked and Jae glared at him.

“Do you want to go sleep with the _fishes_?” He threatened. Brian snorted shaking his head.

“What?”

“Uncultured swine.” Jae muttered dramatically. Their laughter echoed in the empty hallways.

 

 _Of course_ , they couldn’t simply walk into that school with Park Sungjin without being noticed.

(Or _summoning people_.

Jae was sure it was the second).

“Ah!” Someone gasped at the other end of the hallway as they were reaching the room on the top floor.

“It’s Kim Wonho-ssi!” Sungjin gasped and his old tutor practically flew towards them.

“Park Sungjin!” The man exclaimed looking like he was about to start crying again and show Sungjin that they’d been telling the truth “What, what are you, you boys doing here today!?”

“We’re here to practice, sir.” Brian grinned “Is that alright?”

“Practice?” He looked at Park Sungjin again and then to the other boys “Together?”

“Yes, sir.” Wonpil confirmed with a slight bow of his head.

“As…as in a band?” He gurgled looking back at Sungjin who was looking very embarrassed, smiling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yes, sir!” Dowoon nodded with a grin “We’ll have a concert tomorrow.”

“Oh no… no Kim Wonho-ssi…” Sungjin raised his hands hopelessly when the man started weeping right in front of him “Please… I’m sorry, I…”

“It’s fine! Some-something got in my eyes!” Their tutor sobbed, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his flowery shirt “I would be, I would be thrilled to help you with, with anything I can, boys!”

The boys looked at one another in surprise and it was a general feeling that having a trained professional help them out would be a wonderful thing. Jae thanked the Lord for blessing this crazy project yet again.

“That would be, that would be great, sir!” Brian nodded with a grin “Thank you very much.”

“Thank you, sir.” Wonpil and Dowoon bowed profusely and Sungjin bowed too, smiling from ear to ear.

“It would be an honour, Kim Wonho-ssi!” He exclaimed, and their tutor nodded, still rubbing his eyes to stop his _shameful_ crying.

“The honour will be mine, Sungjin-ah…” he sniffled “I was mad about coming here today because, because room 12 is my room and I have to report any damaged instruments…” he shook his head “but I don’t even care about that broken guitar, it was one of the oldest anyway.”

Brian and Jae looked at one another before they looked away, acting cool

“Broken guitar?” Wonpil muttered and he eyed Jae and Brian suspiciously but he didn’t say anything.

(Jae would have replaced his shower gel with super glue if he’d said anything.

 _For real_.)

* * *

 

It really was great to have a trained professional guide them and correct their mistakes because it would have been a lot harder otherwise. It would have been _a total mess_ otherwise, actually.

“What songs will we be playing?” Wonpil asked after they’d all claimed one of the instruments in the room.

This time it wasn’t just Wonpil’s annoying curiosity. It was a legitimate question.

“I have a couple of songs in mind…” Sungjin chuckled and he pulled a flyer out of his pocket “I was told that every band should play at least three songs but, but if the feedback is good…” He sighed deeply “we should be prepared to sing for longer. We’re, uh, we’re the last band to play by the way, since I, since my application was the last one to be accepted.” He stammered a lot because he was clearly anxious.

Jae looked at Brian who had pursed his lips and looked a bit uncertain. Jae didn’t have to ask him why he looked so uncertain. He just knew.

If Park Sungjin could sign up someone as a bassist without even knowing if they played the bass, what could he have possibly done with the name of the band?

“Didn’t you, uh, didn’t you have to write the band name down?” Jae asked, eyeing their tutor a bit anxiously. Sungjin seemed to share the same emotion but he smiled a little.

“Uh… well, I kind of forgot about that when we, when we talked… so I…” He cleared his throat and scratched his neck “I came up with something on the spot.”

Silence.

(‘ _Came up with something on the spot’_ is something that you do not want to hear when you’re talking about something like the name of a band.)

“Wait a minute…” Their tutor called for their attention and they kind of braced themselves to be chewed out for their lack of professionalism and for being a bunch of crazy idiots “so… you’ve only played together once before?”

“Yes, sir.” Sungjin nodded, pursing his lips. The man nodded too.

“And you’ll have a concert tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So, this is your one and only practice for your debut concert as a band tomorrow.”

Sungjin was silent and the tension was almost palpable in the room. It sounded like something extremely serious when he put it like that. They kind of had just thought it would be fun? Because it had been fun before? Why did he have to call it ‘ _debut_ ’? They just wanted to have fun, goddammit!

“Yes, sir.” Sungjin lowered his eyes and the shame he felt was so immense that everyone else lowered their heads as well, feeling it too.

Kim Wonho-ssi didn’t talk for a solid three seconds.

“That is the craziest shit I’ve heard about a band formation in over 20 years.” He declared dramatically, and the boys looked up at him. He didn’t look mad or anything; he just looked legitimately baffled “I knew you wanted to play in a band” he told Sungjin “and I knew you wanted it bad but this… this is just insane!”

“We are well-aware of that, sir.” Jae muttered, breathing heavily through his nose trying not to laugh “This has been crazy from the start though.”

Brian snorted and tried to conceal it by clearing his throat, but he was having a tough time keeping it together. When he looked at Jae and saw him looking back he had to cover his mouth.

Wonpil and Dowoon started snickering too when they got what he really meant and Sungjin couldn’t hold it in at all. He just burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, sir!” Sungjin apologised and it prompted everyone to start laughing out loud “I really wanted to try this and I, I guess I took advantage of the fact that we’d all had fun and they, they’re about as crazy as I am!”

Their tutor chortled too and they all felt relieved.

“Crazier, perhaps.” Brian grinned and Jae could barely breath because he was _definitely_ right.

“You keep surprising me.” Kim Wonho-ssi shook his head “But I did see you all play” he remembered “and you were good even without practice, so I guess…” he sighed looking around at the boys “I guess it’s worth the shot and, and there’s still quite a bit of time to practice…”

“There is plenty of time!” Jae said, waving his hand dismissively “We have enough time to practice for at least five concerts!”

More laughter.

“What are we called though?” Wonpil asked sheepishly looking at Sungjin who pursed his lips and sighed “I mean, the band.”

The laughter died out a bit and they all looked at Sungjin who grinned at them.

“Uh…so you know, I had to come up with something on the spot, right? I, uh, I kind of looked for inspiration in the, in the surrounding environment.” He confessed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jae brought his hands together in prayer hoping that their band wasn’t called something like the ‘ _The Windows_ ’.

“Well…” Sungjin sighed “There was calendar on the owner’s desk and it read Day 6, in English, so I…I kind of said we were called Day6?” He told them with a shrug and an awkward smile “She said it was a cool name.”

Jae almost shat a brick.

That was a _lovely_ name. In fact, it wasabsolutely _brilliant_. _Perfect_ , really.

_(Thank you, Lord.)_

“That’s not bad!” Brian exclaimed “It’s not bad at all!”

“Day6.” Wonpil repeated and looked over at Dowoon who also looked rather impressed with how good the name sounded “I like it.”

“ _Day6_ ” the tutor echoed, and he nodded looking round at the boys who looked over at him and were pleased to see him smile “it sticks in your ear because it’s unexpected” he nodded “it’s strange, but I like how it sounds.”

“Well, I vote that we stick with it, then” Jae declared, raising his hand and none of the other band members seemed to oppose to that “Let’s go with _fate_.”

That prompted another round of laughter before they dived into work.

* * *

 

 

Of course, it wasn’t perfect, the start of their practice was rather bumpy, but they eventually figured it out.

The first problem had been the keyboards that weren’t working. Kim Wonho-ssi had freaked out at first because, _more instruments breaking_ , but then they realised that it wasn’t the keyboard’s problem, but the cable. They replaced it and that problem was solved.

The second problem had been Dowoon’s nerves. He’d been confident earlier but he seemed to be having a moment then. He’d taken a lot of reassurance to snap out of it and realise that he was messing up because he was too nervous and not because he wasn’t skilled enough. The tutor had gone to the extreme of grabbing him by the shoulders and give him a shake. It had definitely worked.

And the third problem had been Brian.

Well, that hadn’t really been a problem for anybody but Jae, _really_.

As expected (at least to Jae, who was _definitely_ not biased) Brian was brilliant with the bass. The tutor was mind-blown and didn’t save on the praise, because he knew what he could do with a guitar, but he’d never heard him play the bass. Brian seemed to be perfectly happy with it, but Jae couldn’t help feeling that there was something bothering him.

“Uh… can we take five?” Jae requested after about two hours, when everything was already rolling rather smoothly, and they pretty much already sounded like a proper band, which was something remarkable in the tutor’s opinion “I think I need to sit down for a bit…”

Brian looked at him, now looking honestly concerned.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Kim Wonho-ssi said with a grin “Let’s take five. You’re doing fantastic so far, boys.”

“Thank you, sir!” Sungjin grinned and looked at the others who grinned back and nodded.

“I’ll stay right here, though, sorry about that.” Jae chuckled sitting heavily on one of the chairs and wincing a little with a smile.

“Alright” Sungjin said, not asking any questions “you want us to bring you some food? I’m getting it for everyone, no complaints.” He declared looking around, even at the tutor “I got paid for my work today.” He grinned.

“That would make you my hero, Sungjin, the Builder.” Jae grinned and Sungjin chuckled.

“Uh… I’ll stay with Jae-hyung.” Brian said looking from Jae to the others who didn’t find it weird at all.

“Right, see you in a bit then.” Sungjin waved with a smile and he left with Wonpil, Dowoon and their tutor.

Kim Wonho-ssi clearly didn’t mind it since what he wanted to do the most was talk with Sungjin and that he did, their voices echoing away through the hallway.

Brian didn’t say anything and just got his bag from the chair where he’d dropped it and Jae saw him procure the magnificent bruise cream that he had no idea he’d brought along.

“I feared that this would happen.” Brian sighed and clicked his tongue.

“I can’t believe you brought that!” Jae snorted when Brain walked towards him and knelt in front of him “They don’t hurt that much, honest.” He told him and Brian looked up at him.

“They don’t? But you were shifting from one leg to the other the whole time” Brian pointed out “and you said you needed to sit down.” He added looking very serious. Jae frowned in confusion.

“What? I always shift from one leg to the…what do you mean?” Jae snorted shaking his head “I just wanted to talk to you so I, I kind of made a little scene.” He confessed with a sigh and a chuckle.

Brian was still kneeling and sat back on his calves to look up at him, tilting his head to the side with the tube in his hands.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, I did” Jae huffed and looked to the side, clicking his tongue and ruffling his own hair “because you were looking concerned while you were playing and I, I, uh” he rubbed the back of his neck and clicked his tongue “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Brian didn’t speak for a solid four seconds, looking up at him clearly confused.

“I am okay.” Brian told him, smiling a little “I was worried about _you_.”

Jae faltered and blinked down at him.

“You were worried about _me_?”

“Yes, because of your knees.” He nodded “Like I said, you kept shifting from one leg to the other and I, I thought they hurt from standing up for so long.” Brian told him with a chuckle, furrowing his eyebrows “Why were you worried about me?”

Jae covered his eyes with his hand and sighed deeply. He was a damn _fool._

(Did he like Brian too much?

There was no such thing as liking Brian too much.

But was he a dumbass in love?

 _Definitely._ )

“I thought you were upset about the bass or some shit, man!” Jae confessed with a chuckle and he saw Brian frown a little before smiling.

“What? That’s silly!” He snorted and shook his head “I mean… it’s true that I prefer the guitar because I’m more used to it” he got back onto his knees to put his hands on the back of Jae’s chair and drag him towards him. Jae opened his legs to let him get closer “but I also like playing the bass, Jae, I have bass tutoring.” He reminded him and snorted in clear disbelief. Jae knew now that he was a complete idiot “Why would I be upset?”

“Look, I just don’t want you to be unhappy and I’m, I’m stressed about that.” Jae complained cupping Brian’s face in his hands and making him look at him in the eyes “If Day6 really, really happens, I, I don’t want you to be doing something that doesn’t make you 100% happy.”

Brian’s smile on that moment chased away any doubt he could have had about anything ever. Jae was sure that that would have been enough to thaw all the ice in the damn Universe.

“Making music makes me 100% happy.” Brian beamed under Jae’s hands and Jae felt his heart race happily in his chest seeing his eyes shimmer “I would be happy playing the drums, if I couldn’t play strings for some reason. Or keys.” He told him with a slight shrug “Anything would do, really. If I couldn’t play anything at all, and couldn’t, couldn’t even sing” he chuckled “I would be happy playing the triangle, Jae.”

Jae chortled and shook his head.

“I’m laughing but, but yeah, I feel that. I mean, I stood up to my whole family to risk this, so” he shrugged and Brian licked his lips and nodded “I guess I was fussing over nothing then, uh?”

“You were” Brian held Jae’s waist in his hands and Jae found that he liked that a lot “and that’s rare, because I’ve hardly seen you do that.”

_(Certain feelings make you act crazy, eh?)_

“Says the guy who’s an unpredictable mess.” Jae smiled softly, licking his lips and looking at Brian in the eyes, gently caressing his cheeks with thumbs “How do you feel about Day6, babe?”

“I like the name.” Brian chuckled “A bit random but random can be good” he snorted and Jae leaning his forehead against his, scoffing “It really has a cool ring to it.”

“I was scared it would be something like ‘The Floors’ or some shit when he said he’d taken inspiration from the surrounding environment.” Jae confessed and relished the sound of Brian’s laugh and his warm face under his hands and the firm hands on his waist “But I meant the band thing.”

Brian grinned.

“I love playing with all of you” he said before he sighed “and I’m curious, so curious I could die!” He added before stopping and making a random request “Feel my pulse.”

Jae snorted but did as he asked. He just reached his right hand down a little to feel the pulse on his neck. His neck was warmer than his face and his pulse was very quick.

Like his own.

“You’re really excited about this concert, aren’t you?” Jae smiled, feeling warm on the face and Brian did something so cute with his nose, scrunching it before puckering his lips to make a kissy face that Jae just leaned over and kissed him.

(As if he could resist it when they were there, all alone.

He didn’t have that kind of restraint.)

“This is how our first kiss should have been.” Jae chuckled, and Brian smiled against his lips. The feeling was so overwhelming “Instead of that stuff you pulled on me.” He complained half-heartedly.

“You didn’t like it?” Brian mumbled before nibbling on his lower lip. It sent shivers down Jae’s spine.

(He would have liked it even if they’d kissed for the first time in a bathroom somewhere, to be honest.)

Jae snorted feeling his face burn and _that_ warmth flood his chest. He stole another kiss from Brian. He felt Brian get a little eager which led him to get greedy and lean further for a better angle. Brian was too much of a good kisser.

_Ay._

He was feeling very hot in the face when he heard someone gasp and opened his eyes.

Brian looked up at him and then behind himself before looking at Jae again.

Jae had definitely seen Wonpil rush out of the room and he could hear him outside, making a scene and preventing everyone from getting in the room.

“It was Wonpil” He said, and Brian snorted, licking his lips “Quick, get the bruise cream tube and, just rub my knees with it” Jae grinned and Brian snorted before getting the tube as Jae pulled his pants up to expose his knees “act cool.”

“What are you doing?” Sungjin chuckled when Wonpil finally let them get in the room after pulling whatever he’d pulled to keep them from entering. Sungjin was carrying a shopping bag in each hand.

“My knees are a bit hurt.” Jae winced dramatically “Brian is the best at knee massages.”

Everyone laughed and clearly it didn’t feel weird, mostly because Jae was a great actor and Brian was facing him, so they couldn’t see his flushed face and the effort he was making not to laugh.

Anybody with a pair of eyes, that had been looking for signs, would have been able to tell that they’d been kissing, if only from the shade of red on Jae’s lips.

“We were talking” Sungjin cleared his throat and smiled walking over to them and handing Jae his and Brian’s snacks “uh, outside when we went to get the food and Kim Wonho-ssi was saying that” he sighed “that it would be cool if we had a couple originals ready just in case…” Jae looked from the sandwich and coke in his hands to Brian who blinked in surprise and looked up at Sungjin.

“Yeah” Sungjin nodded “but the thing is that I do have some lyrics of my own, but I didn’t bring my notebook and we won’t have time to, like, practice if we look at them tomorrow, you know?” Sungjin glanced at their guitar tutor with an uncertain smile.

Jae grinned and glanced over at Brian and the bag he’d brought with him. Brian always had his notebook with him.

“You know who has some great lyrics around?” Jae asked playfully, and Brian pursed his lips, smiling a little “This boy here.” He pointed at him and Brian sighed “Don’t even start with me or you’re gonna be catching these hands.” He warned and gestured pointedly towards Brian’s bag “Get them out.”

“You have your lyrics here?” Sungjin asked hopefully watching Brian open his bag and Brian nodded “Brilliant!” He brought his hands together and breathed heavily.

“I’m not sure if they’re that…” Brian started and Jae flicked his forehead “Ow!”

“I warned you.” Jae said as everyone laughed at Brian’s surprised face and Jae’s playfully upset look “I won’t hear any of that humble nonsense from my…” he hesitated for a millisecond remembering that there were more people in the room and that maybe it was for the best to keep it private for a while “ _best bro._ ” He said with a cheeky smile.

Brian looked at him in the eyes and they didn’t need words to communicate this time. Brian had a severe case of the silent chuckles as he pulled his notebook out.

“He’s being a fool, I took a look at his lyrics” Jae said offhandedly looking from Sungjin to their tutor, who seemed to be unfazed by their _weird_ behaviour “and they’re fantastic.”

“Right, we’ll use them then!” Sungjin declared and they went to work again.

Jae exchanged one look with Wonpil and this time, just this time, he thought that his wink and his grin were cute.

(And maybe he could forgive him for interrupting the beautiful Never Gonna Give You Up-themed confession.

 _Maybe._ )

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by e


	13. Day6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The much expected debut concert of the two and half days old band finally happens, against all odds. Things go better than expected on that fateful Sunday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been five months, fam and I'm literally so embarrassed to come here but I have to, I have to show my appreciation for all the love and support you showed me and this fic fjkhgdfk i did say at one point that the only way i wouldn't finish this fic, was if i d*ed and i didn't, so here it is!
> 
> Heads up for this chapter: THE DEBUT CONCERT HAPPENS, only after more bonding over perhaps not so respectful escapades, there's a power outage and two almost deaths, supernatural activity, but in the end it all works out (eventually).
> 
> Right, the notes will sound serious (kind of) but the chapter is a mess and I'm seriously going to combust dfjdkfhjkgg please bear with me bc i need to say all this and, well, u can skip to chapter right away or keep reading these notes, if u want to see me making a fool of myself /lies down
> 
> I don't really know what to say to apologise for taking almost half a year to update this when most of it was already written in the first place. I did change an awful lot in the last couple months and I'm sure there are many, many typos, mistakes and possible inconsistencies and for that I can only ask for your understanding :'( I'll try to fix them when I reread this later sgjkhfdjg 
> 
> Anyway, in case you're curious about my side of the story... well, basically, I wanted to post the final chapter on the 19th of December (Young K's bday) but it was right after the 18th and I got physically ill on the 18th bc of what happened with SHINee. It really hit home for me and even now i just can't accept anything about it. It angers me as much as it breaks my heart. Ugh. So, yeah, all that to explain why I added one of my favourite songs from them here. I needed the catharsis. I hope that's alright and I apologise for it in advance... In January and February it was essay season and I was basically writing and reading materials and it was basically Hell™. By the end of it i just wanted to sleep for 10 years lel and in the past few weeks i've just been too embarrassed to even come here. I didnt even read the comments bc i'm a chicken dsjkhgkfg ALSO, before u say that i don't need to explain myself, i do. i literally do need to but no more tmi lel there's plenty of that already. MOVING ALONG.
> 
> For those who have been waiting for this and enjoyed it so far, I can only offer my apologies and say that I hope that you're not disappointed with how this ends (and the weird shit I couldn't help but add bc I have no control and need to be stopped fdhgfdjgkhdf like i said in previous notes, this was self-indulgent from the very beginning so... well). I guess there's not much more I can say. I hope you like how I decided to end this and that ur not too disappointed dsfjskhgfd again, thank you so much for your continued support <3 <3 <3
> 
> (I'm not ready to read the comments fjhgkdhgd I WISH YOU ALL THE ENTIRE WORLD IN ADVANCE BECAUSE I KNOW I'LL FKN CRY)
> 
> There is one more chapter that will be posted immediately after this one which is basically the epilogue where all the weird stuff is explained fjhdjkgh

* * *

 

Their practice lasted for a very long time.

It ended up extending into the night and it was past 4am when they suddenly heard a loud, weirdly musical thud coming from the back. Dowoon had nodded off onto the battery. The tutor was the one to call it a night and lead the tired boys out of the practice room.

“Will this be enough?” Wonpil asked as they made their way through the dark hallways, faintly illuminated by the outside lights coming through the windows. There were a couple sighs and the boys walked closer together.

“Boys” the tutor broke the silence, speaking evenly “you already had it when you were playing impromptu” he said with a sigh “I’m not going to say it’s absolutely perfect, but I think you’re more than ready to play tomorrow.”

“Thank you, sir...” Sungjin said coyly as they reached the lobby.

“It’ll be fine.” Jae said with a light snort “Even if it’s not, it is anyway.”

“What?” Wonpil asked raising an eyebrow when they stepped into the freezing street after the tutor unlocked the door. Dowoon looked like he was sleepwalking and almost tripped and fell. Wonpil held on to him to steady him.

“I think I know what you mean.” Brian smiled wearily “It may not be perfect but, uh, we’ll know we tried our best with the limited” he yawned and chuckled, shaking his head “the limited time we had to practice, so it’s fine even if we mess up, right?”

Jae nodded and hugged Brian from the side leaning his head against his. Nobody batted an eye at it.

“That is exactly it, bro.” He said and yawned as well, smiling “Besides, it’s weird but like, it feels like these 12 hours were both less than that and a lot more than that, you know? Does that make sense?” He glanced at Brian who hummed and then Sungjin who snorted.

“I know what you mean” Sungjin nodded “it feels like it’s both been five months but at the same time it feels like it was just one hour or something. It’s weird.”

“I think I get it too.” Wonpil grinned before changing the subject back to more pressing issues “We should get going though.”

“Yes, we should.” The tutor said “Will you boys be alright going home?”

“Yes, we will, sir. Thank you for your concern.” Sungjin said with a polite bow. The other boys bowed as well. The tutor dismissed the formality with a wave of his hand.

“Raise your head, Sungjin-ah” he said “you’re making it look like we’ve met today. And you all too. I thought we’d settled that there was no need for this stuff.” He scolded half-heartedly.

“Sorry…” Sungjin said rubbing the back of his head and the tutor shook his head with a smile.

“Anyway, you all go get something to eat and then go to sleep.” He said and the boys nodded “I’m looking forward to seeing your performance tomorrow.”

And with that they parted ways. Following their tutor’s instructions, they got McDonald’s from a sleepy drive-thru employee and Sungjin drove to the dorms.

Dowoon and Wonpil squeezed together on the front seat, since they were both small, and Brian and Jae huddled together in the back of the van in a cocoon made with Sungjin’s fleece throws.

(Jae genuinely crossed himself at the thought of them catching a cold.)

It was a quiet ride, mostly because the makeshift glass made it difficult to maintain a conversation with everybody but also because they were tired and busy trying to eat their food before the chips got too cold. Dowoon fell asleep after eating and Wonpil was trying not to do the same but without much success. Jae had pulled one of the throws over his and Brian’s head and the fluffy material tickled his ear but he didn’t move. He was very shamelessly holding on to Brian for extra warmth and the faint smell of his skin wasn’t helping him stay awake. None of the boys had to voice it for it to be clear that they weren’t worried about the gig (their debut as a band, _God help them_ ) the following day.

It would be alright. Even if it wasn’t, it was anyway.

“How d’you think it’s gonna go, Bribri?” Jae mumbled onto Brian’s shoulder as he munched on the last of his chicken nuggets. Brian had his face resting on top of Jae’s head and Jae could hardly believe it when he looked at his face and realised that he’d fallen asleep while holding a half-eaten Big Mac.

Damn cute. How _dared he_?

Jae snorted and took the rest of burger away from his hand and put it back in the bag. Maybe he’d want it later or the next day (it was still good to eat the next day, mind you.)

They had a suitable selection of songs, in their _and_ their tutor’s opinion, and the original wasn’t perfectly arranged but, thankfully, Brian already had a vague ideas for how it could sound. Their tutor’s advice was crucial of course but everyone helped and provided valuable insight, even for the lyrics, because some verses had to be fine-tuned to better suit the voices and the arrangement. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. Plus, they didn’t even know if they would get to play their original song, so it was no use worrying too much about it anyway.

Whatever happened, happened.

* * *

 

Sungjin slept over in SW-10 with all the members of his new-formed band. Their nerves didn’t prevent them from sleeping because they were all dead tired from that practice session that had felt like it’d lasted for five months.

(Sungjin was kind of weirded out by that but Younghyun had said something about Perceived Time or something like that from some National Geographic article, so he decided not to think too much about it. Jaehyung had started laughing very hard at that and when he said that it was because _Brian_ (Sungjin didn’t particularly like using the foreign name because it was awkward to pronounce it) had an online subscription to the magazine he understood even less.

He’d gathered a band of weirdoes, he realised, but it was probably meant to be since he himself was kind of a weirdo too.

(The weirdness probably came with being an artist.)

They all went together with Jimin, Kevin, and Yerin (who took Younghyun and Jaehyung with them because it was the sensible thing to do). Wonpil and Dowoon squeezed together in the van again. It was risky during the day but it was that or paying for a taxi and nobody wanted to spend the money when they had another option.

Well, despite the lack of comfort, it was a nice opportunity to get to know the younger boys a little better. Sungjin was surprised to know that they’d known each other for a long time and he was happy to see them warming up as they kept talking. They had talked before on different occasions, but never just the three of them. Dowoon had seemed rather aloof to him but seeing him now, chuckling at the things Wonpil said and sharing funny stories about their school experience (“Wonpilie once ate his cheat sheets during a Philosophy test because the teacher almost caught him!”, “I had to get rid of the evidence!”) made him realise that he was actually just shy. They probably already knew that Sungjin didn’t particularly like being excessively praised but they seemed to be his number one fans and kept on gushing about his performances and how it was amazing that they were now in the same band.

Sungjin smiled and thanked them a bit awkwardly and they certainly noticed that because they stopped their praise shower and the awkwardness settled. Sungjin was regretting his bad habit of shutting down compliments when he noticed the cops tailing him.

He felt all the blood drain from his face.

“Oh shit…” He whispered with his mouth parching up. Oh shit. They were most definitely after him. He didn’t slow down because they hadn’t signalled him to yet. Dowoon and Wonpil had fallen completely silent and looked very anxious when they glanced at him. Sungjin thought about flooring it and fleeing but then he remembered that the van was literally falling apart, and that the engine would probably combust if he tried that.

(Younghyun and Jaehyung were a bad influence. Making him think about running from the law again.)

Sungjin mentally and very quickly started counting all the infractions he was guilty of.

Two people on the same seat. No back vision (the glass was yet to be replaced). Bald tyres. Expired Vehicle Inspection. Only one headlight. Busted suspension. The engine was burning too much oil, so the amount of white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe was concerning to say the least. He had no insurance.

And there was no number plate.

(Sungjin had taken them out himself.

Yes, it had been because he knew that something like that could eventually happen and he didn’t want the car to be traceable. He wasn’t a bad person, really. He was just too broke to get his van fixed. Judge all you want.)

Sungjin was already adding up all the fines he would get and wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He would have to work for an entire year without eating or paying his rent to pay it all up. Plus, if they got caught now they would most definitely be taken to a police station and be late for the gig.

There was just no way he could let himself be caught.

 _There was just no way_.

“Open the glovebox and take out all the things inside it.” Sungjin told his soon-to-be accomplices who looked at him “There’s plastic bag under your seat, stuff everything in it.”

“Wh-why?” Wonpil whispered but Dowoon didn’t have any further questions. He opened the glovebox and pulled everything out and onto his lap before reaching for the bag and stuffing everything inside. He waited for the next command. Sungjin had a feeling that he already knew what they were about to do.

“We’ll flee.” Sungjin stated, clutching the steering wheel. The trot song coming from the radio wasn’t helping. A song about taking vitamins to some oppa wasn’t the ideal background music for when you’re about to escape the law. “I’ll have to replace all my tools but that’s fine.” He was thinking as the went “I’ll also have to let go of Lucky Charm, but that’s alright too. I’ll tell my dad that the repair costs were, were too much and that it, it’s cheaper, yeah” he nodded at his excuse “it’s cheaper to get a new vehicle. He’ll understand.”

“We’ll run?” Wonpil whispered widening his eyes in disbelief “Hyung…”

“I’m sorry, I know you had a great opinion about me” Sungjin said seriously “but it’s just too much to pay and, and we can’t miss the gig.”

Silence. The trot singer kept singing about the vitamins for her oppa.

“We’ll run then.” Dowoon spoke up and he didn’t sound too anxious. That and the familiar accent from his hometown, helped Sungjin to make up his mind.

“I’ll stop the van in front of some food place” he informed and Dowoon nodded. Wonpil still looked terrified but Sungjin paid him no heed “and we’ll all get out very quickly. They’ll probably stop either in front or behind us, so… we’ll pretend that we’re getting in the place to distract them but then we’ll, we’ll mingle with the people on the pavement and leg it.” Dowoon nodded again and seemed confident.

“Wonpilie, you can do it.” Dowoon said squeezing his thigh as he unbuckled their seatbelt.

“You know I’m not a fast runner!” Wonpil whimpered “And, and we’re running away from the law, Dowoonie! I’m not a criminal!”

“I don’t like it more than you do.” Sungjin stated gravely. And it was true. He hated that he _had to_ do that.

“It’s that or Sungjin-hyung paying a lot of money he doesn’t have! Let’s do it!” Dowoon stated firmly and Sungjin was impressed by his nerve. Wonpil didn’t seem particularly shocked, which was too be expected since he knew him better.

“You’re cr-crazy.” Wonpil croaked “Both of you, completely nuts. I am in a band of crazy people!” Dowoon actually chuckled at that and Sungjin snorted but said nothing. They had to get out of that situation as soon as possible or they would be late for the gig.

“Okay, that one” Sungjin pointed to a particularly crowded Burger King “there’s a lot of people in and outside so, so we should, _it’ll be fine.”_ He stated and he started slowing down the van already mentally saying goodbye to it, thinking about all his good moments and naps in it. It was sad but he had to let the nostalgia go fast because there were more pressing issues at hand.

As Sungjin had predicted, the cops pulled up behind them when he stopped the van. Dowoon was the first to get out and he dragged Wonpil and the bag with the documents out with him. Sungjin left soon after, patting the dashboard one last time before slamming the door behind him. He tried to avoid making his face visible without being too obvious about it as he joined the younger boys and mingled with the crowd getting in the Burger King joint. He saw one of the cops inspecting the van as they walked in. He figured that the other one was going to walk in behind them and he was right about it.

“Okay, hyung, what do we do now?” Dowoon asked promptly as they stood inside. Wonpil was still tightly holding the younger boy’s hand and looked like he was going to be sick on the floor.

“We get out.” Sungjin said after inhaling deeply “Give me that bag, Dowoonie.” Dowoon complied and Sungjin stuffed it under his sweater, tucking it in his pants “Let’s go, boys! One of the cops walked in behind us.” Wonpil whimpered “It’ll be fine!” He assured him firmly and he didn’t seem too convinced anyway “ _Let’s go_.” He repeated.

They got out and mingled with the crowd once again and Sungjin confirmed that the cop was sill inspecting his sad red van. The other cop didn’t seem to have noticed that they’d left yet.

“ _Run_.” Sungjin said and they did. Wonpil was dragged along by Dowoon, who was a decent runner and a pro at avoiding colliding with people. Sungjin felt the rush of adrenaline in his body and almost burst out laughing. He couldn’t believe they were actually running from the police. They ran for a whole block before Wonpil ran out of breath and gasped that he couldn’t go for longer. Sungjin was burning and still up to run more but he realised that they were probably at a safe distance, especially considering that the cops hadn’t taken a really good look at their faces. They’d done it; they’d abandoned the van and ran from the law.

“We’re safe.” Sungjin gasped as they all leaned against the wall outside a pharmacy.

“ _We’re safe_.” Dowoon repeated and Wonpil slid to the floor before he started crying. Sungjin felt guilty and was going to apologise when he saw that he was laughing too. Dowoon started laughing too and Sungjin couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing too.

“I’m in a band, a band of crazy people!” Wonpil exclaimed breathlessly “I can’t, I can’t believe that Sung-sungjin-hyung convinced us to commit a crime!”

“It was awesome!” Dowoon cackled, wheezing “We should do that again!”

“No we shouldn’t!” Sungjin guffawed “I thought you were the quiet one! You’ve been hanging out with Younghyun too much!”

(Sungjin was utterly convinced that Younghyun was the reason for the outlaw urges of all his friends including himself.)

“Oh no” Wonpil protested dramatically “he’s always been like this!” He exposed him and Sungjin cackled wildly as Dowoon guffawed “He looks like he’s very quiet and lowkey, but, but he’s actually the first to get into crazy shit” he slapped his mouth after cussing and Dowoon lost it “I’m sorry, Jaehyung-hyung is a bad influence!” He laughed too despite his beet red cheeks.

“It’s fine.” Sungjin grinned “Cussing is healthy.” He declared, reaching his hand to help Wonpil up from the floor “Let’s call a taxi and get to the bar.” Sungjin sighed deeply as he helped a still laughing Wonpil up.

He couldn’t believe he’d just turned his younger members into his partner in crime. Talk about bonding.

* * *

 

Even Kevin cussed when they finally met at the bar about an hour and a half later.

(The taxi took a while to arrive. They actually took the chance to get some over the counter calming pills from the pharmacy. They had no need for vitamins. Their energy levels were still high enough, thank you very much.)

“And you were talking about us committing crimes!” Jae cackled at Wonpil who was also laughing now that he wasn’t running “Look at you all, running away from the police!”

Brian was having the time of his life because Sungjin had emphasised that it was bad influence that had given him the idea to leg it.

“You had removed the number plate yourself though!” Brian pointed out grinning from ear to ear. Yerin was lost between being worried and amused.

“And you took all the evidence that the van belonged to you?” She asked and Sungjin nodded.

“Yeah, I checked what Dowoonie put in the bag, everything’s there.” He assured with a chuckle.

“At least we left the throws back at the dorms.” Wonpil commented, still laughing “I was so scared!”

Jae could barely breath. It was just too good. Now all of the members had committed crimes. However, unlike the first time, there was no way they could go back and apologise. That would have to be their group’s secret.

“But you loved that van, Sungjin-oppa…” She snorted uncertainly. Sungjin shook his head and shrugged.

“I guess it couldn’t be helped” he said “the repair costs would have been super high anyway, so…”

“And you just ran away from the Burger King?” Jimin asked in awe “Wow” she mumbled eyeing all the members of the recently formed band “I didn’t think that Dowoon oppa would be the type to do something like that so calmly.”

“Everyone says that.” Dowoon grinned and Wonpil pursed his lips, shaking his head “and, uh, yeah” Dowoon confirmed looking prouder than he should “We ran away as fast as we could!”

“You guys are nuts, all of you are completely crazy!” Kevin declared shaking his head and looking all the Day6 members “I guess this band really was fated to happen.”

They were all laughing out loud when they walked to the backdoor. All the stress of their first gig as a band seemed to have washed away after that crazy stunt Sungjin had pulled with their maknae-line. It was a way of bonding like any other and committing crimes really was a way to let off steam.

 

“Oh, right” Jimin noticed looking at her friends “we’re not performing. So maybe they won’t let us in through the backdoor.”

“Hm… good point.” Sungjin said but then he shrugged “But it doesn’t hurt to try.”

It turned out that nobody minded. The security guard was a girl about their age and she was super okay with it. She just told the artists who wouldn’t be performing to quietly go to the main room. They didn’t have to pay for their entrance.

“I think I have a crush.” Kevin chuckled with a deep sigh prompting a round of laughter from the others.

“Fair.” Jae said as they walked quietly through the backstage “Okay, I guess this is where we part ways… wow, take a look!” He exclaimed peeking into the main room through the access door. It was quickly filling up with people and the faint light had a pinkish and orange glow to it “It’s really nice!”

“Yeah…it’s a lot bigger than I thought, too” Dowoon commented and sighed a little “I just hope we don’t, don’t make too many mistakes.”

 “It doesn’t have to be perfect anyway.” Jae reminded them with a shrug and they all agreed.

“Let’s go.” Sungjin called and they all followed him further into the backstage where they found the owner, Baek Hei-Ran, who definitely didn’t look as casual as she’d seemed when Sungjin had signed them up for the contest. He barely recognised her in a pretty, long-sleeved salmon dress and high heels, and her hair and makeup done. She looked a lot younger but just as imposing as she’d seemed before. She seemed to be chewing out some of the staff for some reason they couldn’t quite hear because there was too much noise.

“Sungjin-ah.” She called, clearly done with the two guys who bowed and quickly left. The other Day6 members looked at Sungjin unable to hide their surprise at the familiarity. She even smiled when she approached them. They bowed reflexively when she was at hearing distance “I know I’m not supposed to have favourites.” She smiled and they looked curiously at her.

“This is Baek Hei-Ran noonim. She’s the owner.” He introduced politely, and they bowed again. She chortled softly.

“You’re making me sound like the head of some shady club.” She commented, slapping his arm. Jae snorted and Brian looked to the side to cover his laugh “Just noona is fine.” She assured dismissively, and the younger boys smiled.

“This is Jae” Sungjin pointed and Jae bowed a little “Young K and Wonpil” they both bowed “and Dowoon.” Dowoon smiled awkwardly as her eyes focused on him for a moment. His whole face flared up. Jae felt like pinching his cheeks. “Have we met?”

“I don’t think so, ma’am.” Dowoonsmiled awkwardly. Noticing his situation, Sungjin helped.

“Dowoonie is also from Busan.” He said with a grin and Hei-Ran’s face lit up. Jae exchanged a glance with Sungjin. The odds of her also knowing some of Dowoon’s family were ridiculously low considering the size of Busan but apparently fate kept going at it because that seemed to be the case.

(Jae was ready to call it, if she actually knew him.)

“Yoon Dowoon?” She asked and Dowoon blinked in surprise and even more so when she said his father’s name.

(Jae was calling it.)

“Yes. That’s my dad’s name.” He said even more surprised and she grinned. Jae should have been expecting it, honestly. After what Sungjin had told him, he was ready to accept anything as a normal occurrence.

(It was time to finally finish watching the Twilight Zone, it seemed. Maybe he’d talk Brian into watching it with him.

Nothing screamed romance more than a weird old show.)

“I knew your dad for a while when I was still living there.” She said with a grin and Dowoon was lost for words “It’s uncanny how much you look like he did when he was younger. How is he doing?” She asked fondly.

“Uh… he’s doing fine.” Dowoon smiled, rubbing the back of his neck “He, my family has a restaurant there…”

Her face lit up again.

“Oh my, he kept talking about opening one, that’s really nice to hear!” She said and patted his shoulder “Tell him I said hi and that he has a very sturdy son!” That actually had Dowoon chuckling a little as he thanked her. She sighed deeply and clicked her tongue “You kids are making me want to go back there, what should I do-o-o?” She complained half-heartedly, and the dialect was creeping into her speech. She fell silent for a second before smiling again “Right, I won’t be the only person in the jury, so don’t worry about favouritism.” She grinned at the other boys “Plus” the smile disappeared and they all shivered “I won’t give you points you don’t deserve.” They nodded vehemently “We have instruments here.” She changed the subject and sounded softer again “But I see that some of you brought your own.”

“Uh… we will need the battery and the keys.” Sungjin informed and she nodded.

“That’s what usually happens, don’t worry.” She assured waving her hand “Alright, you have plenty of time to get ready, since you’re the last. So just make yourselves comfortable” she sighed and looked around at them “I’m pleased to see that you don’t seem too nervous, some kid threw up a while ago.” She groaned with a small huff reaching her hand up to her head but retracting it slightly frustrated “I feel like the hair won’t last the whole nigh” she complained, clicking her tongue before smiling again “But your confidence is refreshing and shows that you’ve been doing this for long enough” she said approvingly and Jae felt like he would genuinely combust “I have things to do, because these newbies keep messing up and I swear I’m a patient woman but… _God_.” She growled again “I need a puff as soon as possible...Good Luck for later, boys, I’m looking forward to Day6.” She winked and then walked away.

“Yeah…” Jae started when she was out of earshot again, glancing at his members with a guilty smile “we’ve been doing this for long enough… two and half days is a long time, right? Didn’t National Geographic say that time is an illusion?” He glanced at Brian who had already started laughing again, his whole face getting red.

(And as expected of one of the best sounds in the world, his laughter only made him feel more at ease.)

The others lost it too.

“It’ll be fine!” Dowoon said with a grin “We can do this!” They all agreed and they all actually believed it.

“Well” Sungjin sighed softly “There’s not much we can do before it’s our turn. Let’s figure out how many bands will be performing.” He suggested.

“Good idea.” Brian nodded and so they did.

The backstage was crowded, cramped and stiflingly hot, completely different from the freezing outside. Hei-Ran was right about the heavy mood among the other contestants; they seemed to be the most relaxed (the reasons for their stress-free state were probably not the best but that was a detail). They found a couple of acquaintances from Uni and some people they’d never talked to but knew from the hallways and the cafeteria. It would have been expected that some sort of competitiveness would ensue, maybe a couple snide remarks to discourage them but none of that happened. Since they were so stressed, they probably didn’t have time to harbour any ill-feelings towards the other contestants. Some of their acquaintances even wished them luck and they wholeheartedly wished it back.

So the contest started. There would be a total of 10 bands performing that night, which was a lot considering that they would performing for a total of thirty minutes each, which meant that Day6 would have to wait over four hours for their turn. It was risky to be the last band to perform because there were high chances that the public would be tired by then or considering the location, drunk and not listening to anything anymore. Still, the owner had said that being the last was a good move, so Sungjin held on to that and told it to his members to reassure them.

“It’ll be fine, you literally sacrificed your Lucky Charm for this.” Jae grinned and the others looked a bit confused so he elaborated and told them about Sungjin’s van’s name. Dowoon and Wonpil had already heard him use the name in passing but had had more pressing issues at the time to think about it. They laughed and patted Sungjin in respect for his sacrificed Lucky Charm.

The other bands were alright, they found. They were obviously not professionals (like themselves), but it was easy to see which ones had been practicing together for longer and which ones had room for improvement or if that was about as good as they would get. Some of them didn’t look too nervous on stage and seemed to actually be having fun, but others were so tense that they compromised their performance because of that. Having fun and doing what you love was the most important, Sungjin commented. Jae agreed, but added that even if it was just for fun, deep down they all wanted the recognition, like every artist does. That wasn’t argued because it was just the truth. They also had fun playing and it was their passion for music that moved them but taking it lightly was out of the question when you wanted to make a career out of your passion.

The staff passed water bottles and snacks a while later to feed the poor artists who had to loiter about the backstage waiting for their turn, which was a great detail, Jae commented feeling rather pleased. It was once again one of those cases when time seemed to be messing with them.

“How the hell has it been two hours already!?” Jae exclaimed almost choking on his sandwich when he noticed the time on Brian’s wristwatch.

“We should be memorising the lyrics.” Wonpil said and Sungjin patted his back.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” He agreed pulling out his phone “I mean… we picked songs we, uh, damn, this phone” he clicked his tongue tapping the smashed screen “Can I see from yours?” He asked Wonpil, who nodded and put his phone where they both could see.

Brian also pulled out his phone and opened the lyrics’ folder, sitting on one of the foldable chairs they had there for the artists, and where they’d been sitting on and off for the past two hours.

“Let’s look at the lyrics together, hyung.” Brian called Jae who nodded and sat beside him. Dowoon was busy sitting down and playing with his drumsticks on his leg drum pad with his headphones in his ears, fully focused on practicing. Nobody bothered him at his request. He’d been doing that for the past two hours and gone over the songs in their repertoire at least five times already. He wasn’t nervous, he assured them, he just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t mess up.

Brian had gone through the trouble of colour-coding the lyrics to make everyone’s lives easier but there was still a bit of trouble.

“Will you still love me if I mess up the lyrics?” Jae mumbled in English with a snort after a while when he messed up his line for the third time in a row. Brian chuckled and nudged his leg with his knee.

“Just ad-lib it, if you mess up. People like ad-libs.” He said and Jae sighed dramatically.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Brian rolled his eyes and pursed his lips in a slight smile.

“Do I really need to answer that?”

“No, I’m just being an idiot.” Jae chuckled and took a sip of water before huffing and leaning back, looking at the wooden ceiling “We even picked songs we were all familiar with.” He groaned “Why do I keep mispronouncing this damn word?”

“You’ll get it right on stage, I’m sure about it.” Brian smiled, patting his thigh “How’s your knee by the way?” He asked and Jae looked at him again, shrugging.

“It’s alright, it doesn’t really hurt that much anymore.” He assured seeing Brian’s uncertain look “I promise, you worrywart.” He chuckled and Brian nodded.

They went on memorising the lyrics for a while longer before grabbing their instruments and going for the final practice. Wonpil was the only one who couldn’t practice his instrument at all, but he gestured with his fingers as if he was playing the keyboard.

“I guess that’s as good as it’s gonna get tonight.” Sungjin snorted and they all agreed “It’ll be fine, guys. Just, just” he didn’t seem to know what to say to motivate them, since he felt responsible for them and had the urge to say something “let’s just go out there and play, yeah. Like we did outside that time.” They nodded and sighed. The speech was a bit dodgy but they all appreciated it for the effort.

“Thank you, leader Park.” Brian grinned, patting his back and they all smiled and nodded “I think that we needed that.”

And with that, over four hours had passed and it was finally their turn. The cheers of the audience didn’t seem to be getting weaker despite it being way past midnight already and that was a good sign.

“It’s good to see that everyone is still full of energy because we still have one more amazing performance waiting for you!” They heard the MC’s voice echoing from the stage, which prompted them to jump off their seats as if they’d been stung in the butt “The final act will be delivered by a five-member band that is having their very first public performance tonight!” People cheered “I’m told that Sungjin, the famous busker, is a member of this band!” The cheers grew louder and Sungjin fidgeted a little as the other grinned at him cheekily. “How lucky are we to be the first ones to see them!?” The MV hyped, and people cheered louder “So, without further ado, let us give a big hand to Day6!” People clapped and Jae felt the tension rising along with the adrenaline.

That was it. It was really happening.

He vaguely saw Wonpil grabbing Dowoon’s face and smooching his cheek which made the boy snort and nod. Jae wanted something like that as well, but he wasn’t as polite.

“Come here, nerd.” He hastily said as he grabbed Brian’s arm with a grin and pulled him back before grabbing his face and kissing him on the mouth. Brian returned the gesture and chortled when the broke apart, looking at him in the eyes. Nobody seemed to have noticed it in the faintly lit backstage. “For good luck.”

“We won’t need luck.” Brian grinned and pulled Jae onto the stage.

Brian was right.

_Who needs luck when you have talented and reliable bandmates?_

They had a very eclectic [selection](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA1CHeHcqVw0LZo7dTG54vDMK7CqXpcgx) of songs. And their performance started with a rendition of 2PM’s ‘Promise (I’ll be)’ which prompted loud cheering from the audience and helped ease their nerves. The second song was a bit trickier, because the mood of the song was drastically different, but their tutor had advised them to mix up the themes of the songs in order to keep the audience hooked with the unexpected element. ‘ _Loser_ ’ by Big Bang was a heavy song with a lot of rap that had to be provided by Brian. Their tutor had been right, as expected, and the mood in the room shifted from happily entertained to expectant curiosity. They then hit it with Exo’s ‘ _Love me right’_ , which prompted more cheering. It had been tricky to come up with the arrangement for a band version of that song and once again their tutor’s presence had been crucial. The fourth song was another unexpected song, but it was one they had already sang together. The audience went wild when they realised it was Twice’s ‘TT’, or so it seemed. They decided to go wild and do a medley with ‘TT’, ‘Knock Knock’, and ‘Signal’. If the public’s reaction was anything to go by, that was a great decision. Their friends in the audience were laughing their heads off. It was clear that the public wanted them to keep going so they did. Their next song was BTS’s ‘ _Spring Day_ ’, one again something that was rather different.

It was all going well until their last song. They were sweating and glowing and everything seemed to be perfect. Sungjin was going to announce their last song.

“It’s amazing the, the support everyone is giving us and, and uh, this, this our last song before we sing our original, if you allow us to!” Everyone cheered loudly and Day6 grinned “So, our last cover for tonight will be…” but he didn’t get to say it because the lights suddenly went off there was a collective gasp at the sudden darkness. The darkness was not absolute because of the salamanders on each side of the room which kept the orange glow.

“It seems like there’s been a power outage!” The MC shouted, ever so helpfully, which made many people laugh because that much was obvious “Everyone remain calm and, and Day6, please, uh, please stay where you are while we try to solve the problem!”

But it was obvious that the problem wouldn’t be solved that quickly and everyone was getting restless, their faces faintly illuminated by their phones’ torches and screens.

Brian had a brilliant idea.

“What if we sing acapella?” He suggested and he saw Jae’s uncertainty reflected in his faintly illuminated face “Or better yet, with the drums as the only instrumental.” Dowoon looked at him and shrugged.

“Are you serious?” Jae asked.

“Yeah.”

Wonpil looked uncertain as well but Sungjin snorted and shrugged.

“Why not?”

And that was the right question.

There was too much noise in the poorly lit room, so it would be difficult to attract everyone’s attention. Brian knew how to whistle loudly with his fingers though, so he did and it worked like a charm. The public fell silent for the most part looking in their direction.

“Everyone” Brian started “the last song we’d prepared for tonight is a very special song” he said and illuminated his face with his phone “and we really want to sing it! Since we don’t know when the power is coming back, we, we’ve decided to sing with only the drums and our voices.”

The buzz of surprise was expected but nobody seemed to be against it. They’d gotten them hooked with the unpredictable song choices and here they were again.

“This song is a song that maybe some of you will know like the previous ones… I hope that you can enjoy it!” Jae added and took a deep breath because it would be him starting to sing the last song.

Shinee’s ‘ _A-Yo_ ’, an upbeat song to lift one’s spirits.

The audience was waving their phones’ light and humming along. Jae stole a glance at his members, faintly illuminated by the dim lights of their phones, which they were using as a pretend mic and saw them glancing over as well. The room was warm and their feelings came together and resonated together as one to sing the meaningful lyrics.

Those lyrics full of love and hope that meant a lot to all of them.

Jae took off his glasses and wiped his eyes with his sleeve when they finished singing that song and on that moment the power returned. There were many sleeves rubbing at eyes in the audience and Jae saw the other members’ shimmering eyes smiling at him.

It was a song to remember when all hope seemed to have vanished. It was a song to remember the happiness and chase away the sadness and remember that there’s always someone out there willing to help us.

The audience cheered louder than ever, and the MC returned to the stage, looking very pleased with the boys despite his equally shining eyes.

“It seems like something very special happened here, to-tonight!” He said into the microphone “And these boys knew just what to do! Another big hand for them, please!”

It came along with sounds of approval.

“We are more than waiting for your original song, boys!” The MC said and Day6 beamed brightly at him.

Sungjin then proceeded to introduce ‘ _Hi, Hello’_ and they went for it, with their hearts full and their emotions through the roof. It was a song about them and their dreams. They’d done it. Against all odds and with a bunch of mishaps along the way, they’d really given a first concert they would be proud of, despite a couple of expected mistakes here and there that the audience either didn’t mind or didn’t notice.

It had been more than alright and of course, they won the contest. It couldn’t be any other way after their memorable performance. It could be because they’d been the last band to perform but that was doubtful, when one thought about it. Nobody had been so daring in their choices of songs as they had. Nobody else had the partners in crime factor like they did.

(Or the illusion that they’d practiced for months when in fact they’d only practiced for a couple of hours.

There was also that.)

There wasn’t an actual material prize for the winner (aside from a bag with goodies and a bunch of gift cards, but that was for everyone. They were all very pleased with it). When they hopped into the audience with their bags like all the other artists they were met with their friends, hugging them and praising them for their performance and their tutor who was crying again and could barely express how proud he was of them for absolutely killing it and making his job a lot easier.

(“You should have seen him!” Jimin would tell her laughing friends later “He sounded like you were his actual children ‘those are my kids! I taught them!’”)

It was when Day6 saw the CEO of one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea coming in their direction along with Baek Hei-Ran, the owner of that café, both smiling with intent, that they almost shat a brick.

Maybe they should have been a bit more nervous after all. Or maybe it’d been better not to know what was on the line. None of that mattered anyway. It’d worked and that’s what mattered.

It seemed like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they’d casually opened a door to eventually make it big.

(After training for a long time, certainly. But that was detail they’d worry about when the time came.

Day6 was already happening.)

* * *

 

Wonpil and Dowoon went with Yerin, Jimin and Kevin in the car this time and the others shared a taxi home. They didn’t talk much, and Brian and Jae actually dozed off after a while. Sungjin couldn’t fall asleep, his brain still too full of thoughts and his chest brimming with emotions. He couldn’t wait to tell his family that he’d not only formed a band but also sort of got into the industry.

The good mood faded away when they reached the dorms and Sungjin saw that everyone was outside and there were firefighters there.

“Wake up, boys.” He shook them awake and they looked wearily at him “There’s trouble.”

“What?” Brian groaned hoarsely, clicking his tongue as they got out of the car.

Jimin, Yerin and the others had arrived first and were already at the scene when they got there.

Of course that night couldn’t end without more weird stuff happening.

“What the actual fuck happened?” Jae asked in English, rubbing the sleep off his eyes.

That was a legitimate question. The first thing they saw when they broke through the mass of people standing together by the main door was Jaebum and Jinyoung walking out of the building. Jaebum was wearing nothing but his boxer briefs and he seemed to be holding a weakened Jinyoung, also in his underwear, upright. They had their arms around each other. Several people cheered when they appeared.

“Here you are!” They heard Jimin’s voice coming from their left and she emerged from the crowd followed by Yerin, Kevin and younger Day6 boys “Where the hell have you been!?”

“The taxi driver didn’t know the way.” Jae replied curtly. That didn’t seem to be the most important issue at hand, honestly “What happened here?” He asked again

“We’re not sure because, because we got here only a while ago…”Yerin started and Jimin nodded gravely. The boys who had just arrived looked both curious and apprehensive “Basically, the reason why they’re all here is because there was a gas leak.” She explained. They gasped and looked from her to the others who nodded “It seems to be fine now, because, because the firefighters managed to close the gas and found the place where it was leaking…”

“Some guy from the C-floor said that the warden told him to call help.” Kevin added and Jimin shivered. She seemed to be cold, alright. They all did. It was late and the weather wasn’t getting warmer in October. The fire of curiosity was burning though.

“The warden?” Wonpil asked raising an eyebrow “Why was he here so late?”

“That’s the thing!” Kevin grinned and Jae could almost smell it “He’s not here! Apparently nobody could find him!”

Yerin and Jimin huddled closer to one another and looked at the other boys with somewhat anxious looks.

“It’s true.” Jimin said and gulped “They were saying that they couldn’t find him anywhere… I hate this creepy shit!”

“Dude, what the actual fuck?” Jae mumbled, shuffling closer to Brian for warmth “And why…” He looked over at Jinyoung and Jaebum who were being assisted by the firefighters, who wanted to protect them from the cold. Jaebum reluctantly so, it seemed, as he was yelling at them and seemed to be on the verge of tears “what’s the matter with…” he couldn’t focus because there was just too much information to process “what happened with Jinyoung and JB?”

Nobody could answer that so they just shrugged and kept looking for hints in the scene. There were none. No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t make sense.

“Jaebum hyung is acting weirdly…” Wonpil said with a frown looking at Jae and Jimin, who nodded a little making a face “He’s not… like his usual self?”

“He and Jinyoung were yelling earlier.” It was the Chinese girl from D-floor who was very angry in the pink bunny pyjamas a couple days ago. She was still wearing the bunny pyjamas but she was wearing a cardigan over them. They looked at her a bit startled. “Sorry, you were asking and I just replied. It’s late.” She stated as a kind of apology, crossing her arms over her chest for warmth “I’m Zheng Meili.” She said. They nodded and Jae smiled a little as they told her their names “I remember some of your names.” She said “We’re on the same floor.” They nodded, still mildly surprised at her straightforwardness. Kevin looked mildly interested (the paranormal aficionado was probably more interested in the bit about the ghostly warden.)

“So, they were fighting?” Jimin asked and the girl nodded.

“Not sure.” She shrugged “I think they were both drunk, you know? Well, they probably sobered up a little by now…” She added and Jae snorted “I was was in the laundry room trying to sleep and heard them yelling.”

The laundry room was on the opposite side of the building.

“Jesus, where were they?” Jae asked and Meili chuckled a little “Not sure, far.” She suggested with a shrug “But I’m sure it was them.” She said and the feeling was general. They were curious but kind of scared to know what had happened. Could Jinyoung and JB have been fighting for real? Bickering, sure. But actually fighting to the point of that extremely weird scene happening? Unlikely.

Sungjin smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t really know the two boys so he didn’t know how strange it was to see them like that.

“Jinyoung seems to be alright…” Brian tried, looking at the others who looked as uncertain as he did “Why are they in their underpants?

Meili sighed and shook her head before shrugging.

“No clue. But we heard the fire alarm go off and rushed out.” She explained. They nodded “Yeah, and they were kind of missing but the firefighters” she looked at them and saw them checking Jinyoung after giving him some oxygen “they didn’t want to risk it…”

“Well, at least nobody got hurt.” Kevin shrugged, breaking the tension with a smile “Thank God. I think we all should pray tonight.” His friends and Meili agreed. People started walking back into the building after the firefighters gave them the greenlight to do so “Oh, can we go in?” Kevin asked and some kids from their floor confirmed that they could “Thanks. Should we, uh, go in?”

But Jinyoung and JB were still being assisted by the professionals. JB looked like he would start crying if he so much as opened his mouth and for that reason decided to keep it closed.

“JB is still all over the place, it seems.” Kevin chuckled and looked at the others on the moment that Jinyoung stood up and the firefighters said that he would be fine after a good night’s sleep. They saw Jaebum throw himself onto his friend and hug him tightly. Jinyoung smiled a little and said something that made Jaebum smile too. They held on to each other as they walked back in.

It was all very weird and very unexplained, starting from the warden who was nowhere to be found and then to the half-naked tenants of D-12 who had apparently fought and were the last people to appear.

Sungjin couldn’t help a slight chuckle and the others smiled a little. Sure, it was a funny situation in hindsight but seeing Jaebum look like he was about to cry rolled up in a blanket he’d reluctantly accepted like a burrito, barefooted on the cold concrete at 4 in the morning was pitiful to say the least. He looked like a kicked puppy.

“What caused the gas leak?” Jae asked as they walked into the lobby.

“Who knows?” Kevin said and shook his head “They said the pipes were rusty or something like that, so maybe there were holes in them?”

“There was a lot of gas though…” Meili said and shivered before groaning “and they’re only coming to fix it on Tuesday it seems…”

“Oh shit…” Yerin grumbled “We’ll have to take cold showers tomorrow.” Everyone groaned too.

“And you know what we should do now?” Jae raised his voice after huffing “Go to bed because we have classes tomorrow and midterms are starting. I think we’ve all had enough action to last us for at least two years.”

Everyone chuckled but agreed that he was right and headed to their rooms. Kevin would share his room with Sungjin since he had a double room all to himself. Brain and Wonpil swapped rooms again and Jimin decided to accept Yerin’s invitation to sleepover.

And well, that was a strange note to end that fateful Sunday on, but it was what it was.

That day had been a very long week.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *softly* im so sorry, fam


	14. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin drags JB and Jinyoung along on his quest to find the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the epilogue (I'm editing it even before adding the previous chapter because I want to add it immediately after). I hope that you forgive the mistakes and all that stuff (I'm my own proofreader and I suck at proofreading so sfhgkjdfhg)
> 
> I'll edit the tags too because JB and Jinyoung are actually relevant characters but I won't add this to the GOT7 tag because I don't want to be an asshole and ahgases probably don't want to read something that's not GOT7 when they're in the tag. I think too much, I'm sorry /cries
> 
> Anyway, everything's cleared up here. If you thought that I'd leave that side of the plot unexplained and hated me for that, I hope that you enjoy this. I can only apologise for the terrible humour (one of the only consistent things about this fic tbh) and hope that the ahgases among you don't want to curse me after they read this. There's more jaehyungparkian here because that was the main ship from the start and I hope you like both weird and cheesy stuff bc that's what you'll get here. Please enjoy the last stretch of this mess sfgjkhgfkjdg
> 
> And that's it, I guess. I'll miss this fic dearly and I'll mostly miss you all because believe it or not, your support and validation made me make it through some tough stuff and I don't have words to thank you for that. I can only wish with all my might that you're all healthy and as happy as possible. 
> 
> Thank you for everything!

* * *

 

The warden really wasn’t there that night, but people did see a warden.

Especially Jinyoung and Jaebum, the two unfortunate boys who’d had to come out in the middle of the freezing night with way too much skin exposed.

“Jirongie, do you believe in ghosts?” Jaebum asked a while after they woke up in the morning of that Sunday. They were just kind of lying in bed at 11 in the morning because it was cold and they didn’t want to get up and face the fact that midterms were just around the corner and that was probably the last day they could relax in a long time. Jaebum turned to the side to face his roommate on the other bed and saw that he was already facing him. He smiled at the nickname and closed his eyes before yawning.

“I dunno.” He mumbled “Maybe they’re real, maybe they’re not.” He rubbed his eyes a little and hid his hand under the covers again “Why d’you ask?”

Jaebum fell silent for a couple of seconds.

“I don’t know how to, how to say it without sounding weird” he snorted and sniffled “but last night the main door didn’t want to open so… uh, I walked around the building and came in through the door that leads up to the C-floor…”

Jinyoung looked a bit more awake.

“There’s a door like that?”

“Yeah, there’s a door like that.” Jaebum confirmed and proceeded “It’s a weird door… like, there’s a ramp and then stairs? It’s weird. I thought it was for wheelchairs but how can it be with stairs too?” Jinyoung hummed in agreement “Right so, I went up through that door and it, up, it led up to the C-floor…” He paused for a bit.

“And?” Jinyoung urged and Jaebum sighed.

“I don’t know, it’s a weird floor” he said and clicked his tongue, pulling the covers further up to cover his ears “I’d never been there, there’s a note on a wall that reads ‘Welcome to the C-floor, we’re glad to see you alive’ and they drew that smile emoji that’s like” he drew it in the hair with his finger and Jinyoung nodded with a chuckle “Yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s likely some stupid joke but… have you ever been there?”

“No, I haven’t.” Jinyoung replied “Were you scared?” He teased and Jaebum pursed his lips and snorting “I’m joking” Jinyoung said with a small smile “go on.”

“Thanks.” Jaebum said and proceeded “I didn’t really know where I was supposed to go because, you know, I’d never been there. And, and it was so full of light, like, really extremely bright.”

“Aren’t ghosts supposed to hate light?” Jinyoung asked with a chuckle and Jaebum fell silent again with pursed lips and squinting in his friend’s direction “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Jinyoung chuckled “I promise I won’t interrupt you now. Go on.”

“Anyway, I was trying to find my way through that place and I found some guy sitting alone in the hallway. He didn’t look Korean, if, if that makes sense?”

“Yeah, like a foreigner.”

“Like a foreigner.” Jaebum repeated with a small nod “I thought it was kind of strange for a kid to be sitting alone like that in an empty hallway, also kind of sad… so I walked over and said hi.”

“And he disappeared?”

“Park Jinyoung.” Jaebum called a bit frustrated and Jinyoung chuckled.

“This time I wasn’t joking” he promised, looking at his roommate “since you’re talking about ghosts and all.” Jaebum accepted that.

“No, he didn’t disappear. He was a real person and he looked startled when I greeted him. He got up and looked at me as if _he_ ’d just seen a ghost.” Jinyoung laughed and Jaebum chuckled too.

“Plot twist in which you’re the ghost!”

Jaebum snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Nah, he was just surprised to see me there, I guess” He elaborated “it was late and all and, uh” he thought about how to explain that corridor “this corridor doesn’t have windows or doors aside from the one I came through and, um, there’s another one which I assume leads to the parking place.”

Jinyoung hummed in vague understanding. Jaebum didn’t expect him to visualise what he’d seen. He’d take him there some time, he thought.

“Yeah, so this kid was there alone and he was scared when I said hi but he said hi back and looked kind of awkward” he continued “then he asked me if I was from another floor so I said I was from D and, and, uh, he said that he figured since I was talking to him.”

“Dramatic.” Jinyoung chuckled.

“I thought the same” Jaebum snorted “so I asked what he was doing there and he said he was hiding because, uh, people on his floor hated him and had the right to, or something, apparently his name was Frank.”

“Okay, so what does this weird emo kid have to do with the ghosts?”

“So, well, I told him to cheer up and offered to walk him back to his room, if he told me how to get out of there. So we walked back and, like, he was surprisingly talkative for a kid I’d just found moping around in an empty hallway.” Jaebum commented with a snort “He told me about how his mum was obsessed with his well-being and had, like, told the warden to seal off that door that connects the C-floor and the South Wing because of the cold and stuff, and insisted that all the lights on that floor should be lit at all times, since” he paused and cringed a little “it’s sad, but it’s because she’s scared he’ll bump into things at night and he's, uh, scared of the dark.”

“ _Yikes_.” Jinyoung winced “That’s tough. His family’s rich?”

“Apparently.” Jaebum confirmed “So yeah, this kid has it tough because his mum is too worried about him even though he’s 25 years old, anyway” he was getting there finally “he was telling me that there was something weird about that floor and, like, it wasn’t just him” Jinyoung chuckled “there’s the fire thing, you remember?” Jinyoung nodded “Right, and people died so… like, this kid was telling me that he’d seen the warden roaming about down there in the middle of the night and… like, then he just vanished?”

Jinyoung fell silent for a moment, thinking about it.

“It’s unlikely that he’d be here in the middle of the night” he said and Jaebum nodded “he’s barely ever here during the day, so… I guess it’s weird. Either that or the kid is losing his mind” he chuckled “you know, from being so isolated.”

Jaebum chuckled half-heartedly.

“Yeah, and it’s sad… it could be that too but… I don’t know, you’d have to be there to know what I mean when I say that, like, there’s a weird atmosphere.”

Jinyoung nodded before yawning again.

“We should go there later or something.” He suggested and Jaebum hummed in agreement, still not feeling like getting up despite the conversation about ghosts that Jinyoung was about to shift into a different direction “Anyway, what were you up to until 3am last night?”

Jaebum snorted.

“How do you know how late it was? Where you waiting up for me?”

“I was actually.” Jinyoung didn’t even miss a beat and didn’t sound particularly embarrassed to admit that “You didn’t tell me what you were up to and didn’t return my call and text so I worried.”

Jaebum didn’t reply immediately. It was kind of cute that Jinyoung worried about him but it was also a bit silly. Why would he worry?

“If something had happened to me, you’d know.”

Jinyoung was silent for a very solid five seconds.

“Im Jaebum, if I ever happen to get a call saying that you’re dying or dead somewhere when you, you didn’t tell me where you were, I swear to God, I swear that I’ll go wherever you are and punch you.” He promised and it sounded dead serious. Jaebum blinked a couple times torn between feeling endeared and threatened.

“And what if I’m actually dead?” He joked checking the waters, trying to assess whether his friend was angry or not. It’d never really happened _for real,_ but you never know.

Jinyoung huffed.

“I guess I would have to beat your dead body, wouldn’t I?”

Okay, he wasn’t really angry. _Good._

“Harsh.” Jaebum snorted “I’ll try not to die then.” He yawned again and huffed too “Do you want to go out for brunch? I’m buying.” He offered with a smile and Jinyoung nodded approvingly.

“I’ll take that as an apology.”

* * *

 

How brunch became lunch and a film in the afternoon before evolving into dinner and then drinks in a bar, neither of them could exactly tell. The weather was nice, and the company was better, so they just kind of silently agreed on having a _memorable_ night before midterms seclusion.

They didn’t drink too much but their tolerance wasn’t too high, so they did get kind of hammered, which was not particularly good. Their memories of what went down in that bar were kind of foggy. The air was stuffy with all the smoke and combined breaths and perfume. It made one feel lightheaded and daring. Jinyoung vaguely remembered being ambushed by a girl with bright red lips who pulled him against her and danced with him. He remembered the feeling of her breasts on his chest and her breath ghosting over his neck before he was snatched away from her by another girl who was even drunker than he was and grabbed his ass when she put her arms around him. He wasn’t steady enough to get away from that situation and he didn’t even remember her face.

The memories got more vivid from the moment someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the drunk butt-grabber and pulled him closer. There were no boobs or butt-grabbing this time. It was JB.

He didn’t say anything he just winked at him and smiled. Jinyoung remembered the fluttering and the gratitude. He smiled back and he remembered feeling that he wouldn’t have liked to dance with anyone else that night. At least he wouldn’t get his butt grabbed again as long as JB was there to fight off the daring hands for him.

(Basically, just two guys being dudes.)

They decided to go back at around half past two and it was a miracle that they managed to call a taxi and _actually take it_.

 

Deciding to go explore the C-floor in the middle of the night while drunk hadn’t been their brightest decision and taking off their clothes because it was too hot in there had been an even less bright idea.

“See, see this…hallway” Jaebum slurred patting Jinyoung’s shoulder and looking around at the empty hallway. Jinyoung nodded dramatically with unfocused eyes.

“Beautiful hallway, no doors...hyung, you have ears…” He garbled with a chuckle, holding on to his friend and eyeing his ears with unfocused eyes “We should greet the ghosts, hyung.” He mumbled and snorted leaning his head on his shoulder “Hello, ghosts!” He yelled and Jaebum cackled loudly “It’s us, your boys!” He called “We’ve come to say hi!”

They kept on yelling incoherent stuff at the ghosts until something happened.

 “Leave, boys.” Someone said behind them. Jinyoung glanced back.

It was the warden.

“Oh” Jinyoung acknowledged “it’s my fake dad!” He pointed with a grin.

“You shouldn’t be here.” The warden’s expression didn’t change. Jaebum was squinting in his general direction as if he wasn’t seeing him.

“Who are you talking to?” Jaebum asked looking mildly confused in his drunkenness. Jinyoung frowned at him and pointed.

“The warden, Park Jinyoung Senior. Look, right there.”

Jaebum didn’t know what he was talking about and squinted in the direction he was pointing, not seeing anything in the well lit hallway.

“Get out of here, boys.” The warden said and three younger people approached from behind him looking worried “We want you to leave for safety. You’re in danger.”

Jinyoung wasn’t really scared because he hadn’t realised what was happening yet but he suddenly felt the strong smell of gas and wondering why he hadn’t felt it earlier. They were in big trouble.

“Hyung, there’s gas, gas everywhere, oh God...” He tried to tell him but it was too intense and he felt dizzy. He dropped to his knees. Jaebum felt himself sober up because of the panic that suddenly took over him as he felt the smell. He couldn’t inhale much of that. Where had they even left their clothes? He knelt beside Jinyoung who looked like he was going to pass out. They were going to fucking die there and it was all Jaebum’s fault. He’d told Jinyoung about that place and the ghosts. He was panicking.

“LEAVE, BOYS! RUN!” The warden shouted and this time and Jaebum heard it. He didn’t see it though and he was actually terrified.

“WHO’S THERE!?”

When he did see the warden, he was looming over him and he felt his heart stop beating. The warden wasn’t alone either.

“OUT!” The warden shouted again and it was suddenly extremely cold.

“HOLY SHIT! LET’S GO!” Jaebum shouted at Jinyoung but he couldn’t get up so Jaebum pulled him to his feet and probably because of the adrenaline, managed to drag him out of there almost by carrying him under his arm.

In short, they weren’t fighting with each other. They were just drunk and messing around on a remote part of the C-floor, that despite the fact the gas had been cut, was still full of a deadly amount of gas, and were saved by the warden.

Or _something_ that looked just like the warden.

That had been the wackiest night of their lives and they both agreed that they wouldn’t talk about their encounter with the warden, who was _definitely_ not the warden, and the kids who were with him. More people had seen the warden though, it seemed. That kid Frank(ie) had been the one to warn the other people on his floor about the gas because he’d been warned by the warden and then called the firefighters. It also seemed that they didn’t hate him that much anymore after bothering to learn a bit more about his side of the story.

(He was also not the one stealing food from the kitchen and preventing everyone from having stuff there, he assured them. His family was rich so it didn’t even make sense.

They probably just needed a Brian on their floor to teach them about respect.)

Jinyoung and Jaebum took a very cold shower before going to bed and there had been many times when Jinyoung had joked about sleeping together because it was cold when it wasn’t. This time it was really cold (because the heating was powered by gas) and he wasn’t joking. Jaebum accepted the cuddle proposal without complaining. They put on their warmest pyjamas and took Jinyoung’s bed. It turned out that Jaebum liked cuddling even more than Jinyoung. Or maybe he was just glad that he was alive. Either way, Jinyoung felt very cherished with the way he was tightly holding on to him.

* * *

 

Since Kevin hadn’t slacked with his schoolwork and had started researching for his essays a while ago, while the others were freaking out he had already turned in two essays, the other essays already had solid drafts and he wasn’t too worried about his exams because he had studied beforehand. Call him what you want, but he had his stuff together while everyone else was pulling their hair out. He won.

It was on Friday that he decided to look more into the story about the ghosts and the warden. The pipes had been replaced and the warden had offered his apologies for the lack of maintenance. Nobody asked him about the fact that he was seen on the night of the incident by more than one person and he also didn’t mention it. Kevin wasn’t having it though. He knew that there was something weird about that story. He knew that there was some kind of supernatural activity going on in there and he was going to find exactly what it was.

He tried to get someone to tag along but 1) none of his close friends wanted anything to do with that (Jimin was with Yerin in her room and unceremoniously told him to leave her alone and not talk about ghosts) and 2) they were too busy crying over the materials they had to read and the exams they had to take. So, he was on his own to investigate more about the case and find other associates. He wasn’t that close with the tenants of D-12 but he’d hung out with them a couple times with his other friends from D-floor so they were a little more than acquaintances. Plus, he was older than them so they would probably not tell him to bugger off, if he asked more about their whereabouts on the night of the gas leak.

“Oh hyung” it was Jaebum who greeted him when he opened the door to his room that afternoon “is there something wrong?”

Jaebum looked a bit haggard,with a five o’clock shadow on his face and with bags under his eyes. Well, everyone was looking a bit like that, honestly, but it was still kind of surprising to see a guy who always looked flawless, like JB, in a worn sweater, knee-long shorts and unpaired socks. Evaluation season was worse than ghostly presences, honestly. The dorm was a mess. He’d caught Jae crying in the kitchen at 6 in the afternoon on Wednesday because Brian had left for his guitar tutoring and he needed his help with the texts because he was a dumbass and _a shame_ for his ancestors (in his own words). Kevin didn’t know that he was dating Brian but it didn’t surprise him too much all things considered (“I’m too fucking stupid, what does he even like about me!? I don’t deserve him!” followed by a panicky “Oh shit, you didn’t know that, fuck!” Kevin just told him to tone down the swearing and offered to brew him some tea and told him that he supported it and that Jae was being silly for saying stuff like that “I’ll tell Brian you said that!” “Oh no, please don’t.” Jae was still trembling but he was a bit calmer as the kettle boiled the water “He’ll get upset at me talking shit about myself, he doesn’t like that.” He was better after the tea and then he texted Brian who told him he would be back shortly and offered to bring him food “Fuck, I really don’t deserve him.” Kevin thought it was kind of cute.)

Kevin was now a little hesitant in approaching the current Jaebum about that subject but well, he’d come this far, so he wasn’t going to back down now.

“Uh… well, I don’t want to bother you but, erm, I’m kind of curious about something and, hm, I was wondering if it’d be okay to ask you a couple questions?” He tried.

Jaebum eyed him for a moment, slightly raising an eyebrow. Yeah, Kevin knew it sounded like he was about to point a lamp at his face and interrogate him, but there was no other way to put it and he really wanted to know more about that stuff.

(It was his one guilty pleasure, give him a break.)

“Sure, I guess” Jaebum finally said, ruffling his already messy hair “Jinyoungie is here too…uh…we were kind of studying” he held the door so that he could walk in. Jinyoung was in there alright and he didn’t look in better shape than his roommate. The shadow on his face was even more noticeable than JB’s and his hair was mussed and pulled back with a headband. He was in his underwear and a knit jumper. No socks. He looked at Kevin as if he was ready to attack him. Kevin felt a bit restless.

“Um… it won’t, it won’t take too long, I expect” he promised as Jaebum sat on desk’s chair and looked at him “it actually concerns both of you… it’s about Sunday night…”

The two boys silently looked at him and Kevin was starting to think that it hadn’t been a good idea to come talk to them when Jaebum spoke.

“What about it?”

“Um… they said that the warden was seen and, uh, you guys were the last ones to come out of the building…” Kevin tried with a little awkward smile.

They fell silent again after exchanging a charged look. Jaebum scratched his unshaved chin and sighed before looking at Kevin again.

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

* * *

 

Kevin ended up being the reason for Jaebum and Jinyoung’s procrastination, or as they put it to make it sound less dangerous, _break_ from their studying as they all looked up information about the fire that had happened many years before in that dorm.The internet didn’t have much information about it. It had happened a long time before the internet era, it seemed, so it was a given. Their dorm was mentioned in passing in one article talking about their University, as one of _the non-catered halls_. Other than that, nothing.

“Shit, now I want to know too.” Jinyoung grunted as he shut his laptop “Let’s try the damn library.”

“Yeah, they probably have the newspapers and stuff.” Jaebum agreed “And we could use the fresh air.”

Kevin was happy that they’d join him in his quest for info. Jaebum and Jinyoung couldn’t be bothered to shave or shower, so they kind of just threw on some pants, coats, winter caps and trainers, covered their faces with dust masks and went out like that.

It was quite cold outside but walked to the library. Walking was good to relax the mind, Kevin told them cheerfully. On the way there they talked about the info they already had about the fire and Jaebum and Jinyoung told him about the stuff they remembered seeing down there on the C-floor before escaping.

“That’s crazy!” Kevin couldn’t hide his excitement “I’m sure there were spirits!”

“So am I and I’m not so sure I like it.” Jinyoung grumbled. Jaebum was silent for a moment before he shrugged.

“They helped us though so maybe… I mean, maybe it’s not bad?”

Kevin went on about the different kinds of supernatural remnants of humans the rest of the way and told them that from what they said, these were likely protective spirits.

Jaebum and Jinyoung weren’t particularly convinced about it anyway.

* * *

 

“What exactly are we looking for though?” Jaebum whispered after the three of them returned from the newspaper section with massive armfuls of newspapers.They sat together in a corner of the packed library.

“Anything about the fire” Kevin whispered back.

“Let’s start from the ones from ’68” Kevin muttered “that’s the date on the blueprint.”

It took them a long while because the papers were old and mouldy, and they had to be careful not to tear them because the paper was kind of crappy. There was nothing in ’68, and nothing in ’69, it was only in the early ’70 that something appeared.

“Ah” Jinyoung gasped, looking round when the dirty looks hit him. Kevin and Jaebum looked eagerly at him “I found it.” He whispered “The 5th of February.” He started and Jaebum and Kevin leaned closer to read better. There was nothing special about the article on first inspection. It talked about the inauguration of a new hall of residence for their university and talked about the appointed warden.

The appointed warden.

“Park Jinyoung.” Jaebum muttered in disbelief, looking from Kevin to Jinyoung who felt about as surprised as he looked

“Maybe they’re related…” Jaebum suggested.

“Not necessarily.” Kevin argued “I mean, we have another Park Jinyoung on our floor, don’t we?” He whispered looking at Jinyoung with a little smile. The younger boy squinted at him (his face was still covered) “And Park is a common surname.” Kevin was having the time of his life “Or maybe…” he paused for extra effect “he’s just been there since then.” He whispered, and the two boys shivered.

“I hate this shit…” Jinyoung groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Okay, let’s keep looking.” Kevin whispered “This doesn’t explain anything.”

“Fine.” Jinyoung huffed and so they kept going through the dusty papers-

Early 80s. Jaebum took 1980 and Jinyoungtook 1981. Kevin got ’82.

“ **Silence**.” The librarian growled from the other side of the room when Kevin gasped and slapped the table.

“Sorry!” He said, awkwardly before looking excitedly at Jinyoung and Jaebum “It’s here!” He whispered “The 7th of July!” He pushed the paper towards the other boys so that they could all read.

“ _Unexplained Fire in Hall of Residence Kills 4_.” Kevin read in a whisper “ _Four_ ” he repeated as Jaebum groaned. Jinyoung breathed heavily “it was really on C-floor.” He mumbled “And there’s pictures of them. _Look_ ” he pointed at one of the them “Park Jinyoung again.”

“Oh my God…” Jaebum whispered. That man looked exactly like their warden, only in black and white and with a low-quality camera.

“But it can’t be same person! I’ve seen our warden buying apples, ghosts don’t do that!” Jinyoung complained vehemently and Kevin shook his head, grinning from ear to ear.

“Nobody said it is.” The boys eyed him uncertainly “Maybe it’s his grandfather or something… think with me” his voice was now barely a whisper as he was too excited and didn’t want to get kicked out before snapping a picture of the articles “you told me there were people with him on Sunday, right?” The nodded a little “What if they were the, the people who died with him in 82!?” Jaebum gasped “ _Right?_ ” Kevin was almost crying and he just couldn’t contain his excitement “Let’s take pics of these and go, guys!”

* * *

 

“Kevin needs Jesus!” Jae complained to Brian when Kevin, not only sent pictures of some old ass articles about the fire and the dead relative of their warden, but also wrote a mini-essay in their group chat about the results of his stupid investigation, to which he’d somehow dragged Jinyoung and Jaebum, and all the things he’d discovered that basically confirmed the presence of ghosts in their dorm. He’d emphasised that they were protective ghosts but Jae didn’t care about that. He didn’t want ghosts, good or bad. Period.

**Cthulhu’s Squad**

Jae: [picture of holy water]

Youngk: [laughing sticker]

Yerin: … that’s creepy.

Jimin: [Michael Jordan in the 80s ‘Get some help!’ meme]

Wonpil: [concerned sticker]

Dowoon: kekekeke cool!

Sungjin: wow, that’s interesting

 

Brian and Jae were taking a break from their studying to eat some biscuits and drink some coffee. Brian was sitting on the floor beside Jae’s bed and Jae was using his thighs as a pillow. Jae threw his phone onto the carpet and sighed. Brian was still laughing but Jae was rather upset at the ghost story and he didn’t bother to hide it since Brian already knew that he was scared shitless of those things. The reassuring warm hand on his head helped and it was even better when that same hand carded through his hair.

“It’s fine, hyung, they’re not bad spirits.” He smiled warmly “Plus, I’m here. I’ll fight them!” He exclaimed, clenching his fists and accidentally crushing the biscuit he was a holding. He looked at the crumbs in surprise. It was so damn cute that Jae just couldn’t bear it.

(And saying that Jae was weak to Mr Kang Younghyun’s was an understatement. He felt like that man’s mere presence could actually exorcise spirits.He still held his belief that his smile was responsible for the melting of the polar ice caps.)

He sighed deeply and turned to face Brian’s belly and rubbed his face on it.

“I think it’s time we swapped roommates.” Jae mumbled, his voice muffled by the fabric of Brian’s sweater and he felt him chortling.

“So, you want to move in?” Brian teased and Jae chuckled. The fluttering in his chest was just too much to bear.

“Maybe I do” Jae said getting up to face him. Even tired and sleep-deprived that man had it in him to smile and try to cheer him up. Jae was starting to think that he could read minds because he parted his legs just enough for Jae to fit in there sideways and cuddle the hell out of him. That’s exactly what he did. Brian hugged him back and chuckled a little, clearly pleased with it. “But maybe I don’t, because then I will just want to” he sighed dramatically “I’ll want to sleep together all the time and that’ll ruin our backs, so it’s better this way.”

Brian nodded and sighed too.

“You’re right.” He agreed “We don’t need that anyway, since Dowoonie and Wonpilie also want to be together without us so…” he shrugged and Jae chuckled as he remembered something equal parts lame and hilarious.

“We can’t end up like ABBA, babe” he snorted and Brian lost it immediately, as expected of his soulmate, the only person who always got his lame references “promise me we won’t.”

“I told you we wouldn’t already, didn’t I?” Brian said softly despite his grin “I told I’d make you want to come back.”

Jae was silent for a moment, nuzzling Brian’s neck before pecking it lightly and earning a well-deserved shiver from him. He’d basically forgotten about the ghosts. There was something much stronger going on there. He smiled giddily.

“I sure hope you do.” Jae mumbled and squeezed him tighter “I’m so tired, babe, I’m literally… damn, I’m glad you’re here and willing to put up with, with my being incompetent with academic writing.” It was Brian’s turn to squeeze him tighter.

“It’s not your fault” he told him for the umpteenth time. Jae was starting to believe it and feel less shitty about it “I don’t mind editing your papers, hyung…” he called him hyung while speaking in English and it was by no means the first time it happened, but Jae always found it cute “ah, I keep doing that.”

“It’s alright.” Jae chuckled “It’s in your DNA.” Brian chuckled too and started humming BTS’s song which made Jae chuckling harder and gave him an idea to procrastinate.

(They had been doing nothing but study and write for the past week. They needed a light-hearted musical moment because they were musicians.)

“My favourite song from that album is actually the intro, Serendipity” Jae said with a chuckle, Brian smiled and nodded “and call me cheesy but, but it’s you I think about.” He felt the skin on Brian’s neck get warmer under his cheek and chortled “You’re blushing.” He teased but so was he. He was bad at confessions.

(Not everyone could just pick up a guitar and confess dramatically with Never Gonna Give You Up.)

Brian held him tighter and breathed heavily.

“Thank you.” He said softly and Jae snorted before blowing a raspberry on his neck to make him laugh. He succeeded

“That’s not, that’s not what you say when your boy tells you he loves you, you fool.” Jae snorted “I thought that poets were supposed to be good at these things.”

Brian didn’t reply immediately.

“You didn’t say that.”

Jae was expecting that and his heart was racing but he didn’t miss a beat.

“I love you, Kang Younghyun.”

He could actually feel his pulse from his neck and it made him feel less nervous about it.

“I love you too, Park Jaehyung.” Brian said back, softly and almost secretly. Jae hugged him tighter and whimpered a little onto his neck. He seriously hoped that their thing could last for as long as humanly possible. That wasn’t asking too much.

Jae could have seriously died happy right there and then, dramatically in Brian’s arms during evaluation season, but he couldn’t.

He couldn’t because Day6 had to take over the world first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you around <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [I Think About You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14579337) by [shejustwantstowrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shejustwantstowrite/pseuds/shejustwantstowrite)




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